# Who has a Wikipedia?



## Kevlar (Sep 29, 2011)

A while ago I downloaded a program called XAMPP Lite, an offline (ethernet) web-server. for a very specific reason: it's smaller in size than XAMPP. This was good for two reasons: limited bandwidth, and limited space on my USB. I put the program on my USB alongside the Mediawiki software and now have my own private, offline Wikipedia for everything about my world. So far the information is rather sparse, but I plan to port all my notes over.

Anybody else ever done this? Anybody want to? Am I just strange? Don't answer that last one...


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## Johnny Cosmo (Sep 29, 2011)

I'm currently using a free PBworks wiki, but I'd prefer an offline, personal one. What I really need is a step-by-step guide to get up and running with some wiki software for Mac.


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## sashamerideth (Sep 29, 2011)

http://www.wikidot.com/faq:private-sites

That is all.


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## Kevlar (Sep 29, 2011)

XAMPP is an open-source software with a version for each of the big three operating systems and Mediawiki is a web-app, so isn't system-specific. It's actually rather straightforward to put them together and then you can view them in an internet browser at (http://localhost/wikiname) as long as you have XAMPP turned on.

Mediawiki itself is pretty easy to use, though the fancy stuff like infoboxes requires you to write some templates. Or just find a site that tells you which ones you need to steal off of Wikipedia like I did.

If you want more info/instruction just ask. So far it's been a great tool for me.


Also, sashameridith, an online wiki isn't as flexible as an offline one. For me that's because I have no high-speed internet, for others it might be because of travelling. Either way its easier when you don't have to rely on the web.


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## sashamerideth (Sep 29, 2011)

I am a very connected person so web stuff isn't a problem for me.  For offline yeah XAMPP or other stuff if it's what you need.


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## Amanita (Sep 29, 2011)

> A while ago I downloaded a program called XAMPP Lite, an offline (ethernet) web-server. [...] I put the program on my USB alongside the Mediawiki software and now have my own private, offline Wikipedia for everything about my world.


Would you mind explaining how exactly this works? I'm quite interested in being able to put the infos about my world and stories down in a more structured way, but I don't know much about computers.
If this isn't an option in this case, I don't mind you telling me either.


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## Helbrecht (Sep 29, 2011)

I use WikidPad for this purpose. Great software, I'd recommend it. I find using a wiki to stash my planning much more preferable than using a word document, or God forbid, _paper_, and an offline wiki more preferable than an online one. Works for me.


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## Kevlar (Sep 29, 2011)

Okay, I'll tell you what I know, which is limited to Windows.

Well, the first thing to do is download XAMPP or its Lite counterpart. I do believe XAMPP needs to be complied with a version of PHP other than 5.3, or else Mediawiki won't work. Not entirely sure, but either way I know that the latest beta of the lite version has no issue. You then install it to either your computer or your usb, or extract it there in the case of the beta.

Next, download the latest version of Mediawiki and extract it (twice). You may need something more powerful than your stock extracter. 7zip works for Windows. Rename the extracted folder whatever you want, such as "storywiki". Place this extracted folder in the 'htdocs' subfolder of XAMPP's directory.

Start XAMPP (My version has a console application in the XAMPP directory) and then open the XAMPP Control Panel. Turn on Apache and Mysql.

Now open your internet browser and type "localhost/storywiki" in the address bar, substituting storywiki for what you named yours. Mediawiki guides you through the setup, and you will have a shiny new wiki to store your ideas in.

Heres some links to check out:
http://lifehacker.com/354005/run-your-personal-wikipedia-from-a-usb-stick
http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-beta.html
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Download
http://www.etcwiki.org/wiki/Install_infobox


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## myrddin173 (Sep 29, 2011)

I use TiddlyWiki.  You just download a blank one from the website and you don't need any special software or an internet connection.  And its free, I like it!


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## Kevlar (Sep 29, 2011)

I've tried both TiddlyWiki and WikiPad, and neither were quite what I was looking for. I found TiddlyWiki lacked organization - it read more like a blog - and that WikiPad lacked features. While both work well, they simply didn't work for me. As everything, it comes down to opinion.


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