I love this quote from @twelvety about the benefits of using a wiki:

[…]it’s like swirling hot chocolate around in a mug: By keeping everything visible and mixed in and active, the good stuff doesn’t settle to the bottom where it can’t be enjoyed.

@canion Thanks, Andrew! This is a fun process.

@canion are some of you folks experimenting with wikis because you've exported your blogs to m.b and now don't have an install of your own to play with?

@nitinkhanna Haha! Not in my case. My exploration started as I was assessing personal knowledge management software like TheBrain. A wiki was another option. Then I saw what @jack was doing and it looked like fun. I still have a Wordpress blog as well as Blot.

@nitinkhanna haha, yeah, maybe...

@matpacker :D

@canion I've seen TheBrain... You're looking for an online first tool, I assume?

I've always found wikis to be a little unwieldy... Does Tiddy only have support for wiki markup or does it do markdown or rich text too?

@nitinkhanna I'm just looking for a thought organiser to use in conjunction with DevonThink. TheBrain would be good, but it’s expensive and Java. I tried a Markdown plugin with DokuWiki but it was too buggy, so I've gone back to using standard wiki syntax. Editing the wiki is definitely more fiddly than some local tools with automated sharing options, but the benefit of that is it makes me think and edit - not just capture.

@canion thanks for the explanation of your setup... :) I agree - thinking and editing is a great feature! Does the wiki also help resurface older written items though?

@canion look for that. No point filling out reams of digital pages without them coming back every once in a while to remind you of your story... I love Day One's "One This Day" feature and wish other software had it too!

@nitinkhanna Yes, Day One is great for that. I've fallen off the Day One wagon recently. I need to jump back on.

@canion same here... on and off... Right now I'm trying to do one thing - if I see a day with few or no past year entries, I try to document that day. Just having a record for the future helps...

@canion plus I'm also trying to be more active on my blog... visiting it more often, using the random, now and then pages to spur my own interest in there :) psst - check out the pages I'm talking about on nitinkhanna.com :)

@nitinkhanna RSS subscription confirmed. 👍

@nitinkhanna I like your ‘then' page. Did you hand code that, or is it a plugin?

@canion I've been using Day One as a dumping ground for all the thoughts I don't think belong on my site. Site is for optimism, sharing and possibly critisising. Day One is for naval gazing and internal thoughts that need a place to live outside my head.

@canion it’s basically the same code as @colinwalker’s On This Day page, only slightly modified. Here If you want my version of it, I can upload to github too 😊

@canion 🙏

@kaa I read ‘navel gazing’ and it took me a while to get the image out of my head! 😂

@nitinkhanna Thanks! Only problem is I probably lack enough content on Wordpress to make it worthwhile. I've added the link to my wiki.

@canion and I finally get to see your wiki! I love the books page... 😊

I recommend highly that you implement a random feature on your wiki (though I’m sure even then can be implemented somehow; it’s all PHP!) - the kind that webcomics have. That is truly changing the way I rediscover content on my blog...

@nitinkhanna Something like this?

@canion perfection!!!

@nitinkhanna @canion good idea. Here's mine for Random Quotes. Now I just need to get more quotes in there.

@jack Oooo! This is something I was just thinking about!

@jack You are really using your wiki very well -- I do see the benefit in your ways. Just out of curiosity, how and where do you have this hosted?

@amit Thanks. I'm just making it up as I go along and that's what's so fun about it. It's running as a Node.js app on a small AWS EC2 instance, and I proxy it behind nginx so I get ports 80/443 and Let's Encrypt can handle SSL. I have a note about the details here.

@jack thanks for posting your wiki details. as i dig in, that's helpful.

@donovanwatts I'm glad you're finding some use for the notes. I'm finding it much easier to put things on the wiki because it doesn't feel like Writing A Blog Post™️ so I just do it.

@jack that feeling reminds of when i used to blog with the OPML Editor. nothing has ever felt so frictionless for me.

@canion I love this! Wikis really excite me, for some reason. I just want to cross reference everything in my life, hehe. I’m still on the hunt for my “perfect platform” though. Something cross-platform, that syncs reliably (in whatever form), allows cross-note linking and isn’t too mouse-heavy. Bear notes was pretty good in that regard (texty) but tiddly wiki does let you do some cool stuff behind the scenes. It’s very mouse-clicky though, which is one drawback for me.

@herself Me too. That’s what started me down this path. I’m still trialling TheBrain which is another good option. It’s easier than a wiki but very ‘clicky’ and also expensive. I use DEVONthink as well. I wish VoodooPad was a viable option.

@canion nice- I will have to check out this theBrain—I do like the name!! My problem is I am a Mac and windows person and I’d love something that I can use across both. I have devonthink too, and love it, but since my MacBook died a year ago it basically lives downstairs on a Mac mini and doesn’t get much love.

@herself TheBrain is cross platform, and I think it is probably better on Windows than Mac.

@canion think I will try the demo, but I see what you mean when you say it’s expensive!

@canion pro features: Secure backup of your Brain. :)

@herself I am still on the trial, but I will no doubt revert to the free version at the end of it. I think their pricing model is all wrong, IMO. I would happily pay if there was a cheaper/personal offering.

@canion at least there is a free version, I suppose! Is it much cut-down?

@herself I think it doesn’t permit file attachments? But I think it can use DevonThink URL item links, so you can keep stuff in DevonThink and link to it in TheBrain.

@herself Edition comparison

@canion thanks :)

@canion OMG. Have you seen Jerry's Brain?

@herself Only briefly. I’ve heard it’s massive. I need to check it out.

@donovanwatts I'm with you. Blogging with an outliner is pretty great.

@herself @canion Isn't that something! I'd wager than 75% of the "thoughts" in my Brain were created in a couple of weeks after seeing Jerry's for the first time and wanting something similiar.