The release of a commercial open source wiki by MindTouch and announced at OSCON also is available in a private label version for ISPs; this could be a step toward the adoption of email alternatives to thwart spam.
When the disclosure of Mindtouch releasing DekiWiki arriving in the inbox, we found one part of the statement of specific interest:
MindTouch has also introduced a private label version of DekiWiki available to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) looking to provide hosted wikis for companies that need a reliable and secure co-location solution.
Most observers, and probably MindTouch as well, likely see the wiki as something to be used as, well, a wiki instead of a primary source of communication. But the features MindTouch has incorporated into the product seem to address the problems wikis can have as they scale up in usage:
Accessible through common web browsers, DekiWiki is the first of its class to support advanced features like page hierarchies, file attachments on any page, indexing and searching which bring enhanced functionality to collaborative environments.
In email, the features would be the same for a client, with “page hierarchies” replaced with “message threads.” MindTouch has the commercial market in its vision, by offering support for DekiWiki as well as placing it into the open source community.
A while back, we speculated how wikis could be part of a solution to the problem of email spam. Along with RSS feeds and instant messaging, wikis could serve as a way to securely keep people in touch with family or businesses.
Discuss this article with your fellow WebPros at WebProWorld.
—
Tag:
Add to 
Bookmark Murdok: 
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
