Firas Wehbe [GReader]

Customize MediaWiki into Your Ultimate Collaborative Web Site [Mediawiki]

2009-11-04T17:00:00Z

The free MediaWiki software is best known for powering Wikipedia, but you don't have to be writing an encyclopedia to put it to good use. Extend, skin, and customize MediaWiki to create any kind of easy-to-update, collaborative web site.

When and Why MediaWiki?

MediaWiki is arguably the most advanced, install-it-yourself, free wiki package available. A wiki is an editable web site; you can change each page's content without having to log into a content management system like WordPress or access the server via FTP or other means—you just hit the edit button. While MediaWiki is built for public web sites that anyone can update, like Wikipedia, you can customize it to limit access to certain users. Like WordPress and Firefox, MediaWiki is extendable via plug-ins that add functionality. MediaWiki is also skinnable, which means your wiki can sport a custom theme so it doesn't look just like Wikipedia.

MediaWiki's greatest strengths are that it makes web site pages extremely easy to update, and it makes managing page changes by multiple users very easy as well. So, while you could use MediaWiki to publish your own personal web site where you're the only author, MediaWiki really shines when you're co-authoring with another person or group, or if you have an editor reviewing text on a site who needs to make quick corrections and changes. MediaWiki is also very good at structuring large amounts of text with simple markup. For example, MediaWiki automatically creates on-page, hierarchical outlines based on page sections (shown here) with links that point directly to those sections (even if they're midway down the page). Whether you're co-writing your NaNoWriMo novel, setting up a company intranet, or just want an easy-to-update web site, MediaWiki fits the bill.

Recently, Adam and I used MediaWiki to write, publish, and expand a book-in-progress using MediaWiki. Check it out to get a feel for what a non-Wikipedia web site using MediaWiki can look like.

MediaWiki Installation and Basic Usage

To use MediaWiki, you'll need a web server with PHP and MySQL available and some experience installing web applications. If you've installed WordPress before, you'll have no problem installing MediaWiki. To do some of the customizations below, you'll have to be comfortable adding files to your installation, doing some light PHP file editing, and in the case of skins, know how to tweak HTML and CSS to get your skin to look how you want.

Back in 2006, we covered how to install MediaWiki and that article still stands up. (However, you can't go wrong getting instructions from the horse's mouth—here are MediaWiki's latest installation instructions.) If you don't want to deal with the hassle of setting up a web server with PHP and MySQL and MediaWiki, check out the quick-setup BitNami installer for MediaWiki.

Once MediaWiki's installed, you can start adding and editing pages to your wiki. Wiki pages aren't made of HTML like regular pages, they're made of special wiki markup. Here's a rundown of the most common bits of wiki markup you'll need to know. To see wiki markup in action, hit the play button to watch a five-minute screencast demonstrating how to edit and create pages ("chapters") of a novel in MediaWiki.

MediaWiki Skins

Out of the box, MediaWiki comes with the look and feel you're so used to from Wikipedia; this MediaWiki skin is called MonoBook, and it's popular and immediately recognizable. However, if you log into your MediaWiki installation and click on preferences, and then the Skins tab, you can dress up your wiki in various other looks. With a little elbow grease, you can also create your own custom skin and assign it as the default to the wiki.

All your wiki's skin files are located in the /path-to-your-wiki/skins/ directory, where "path-to-your-wiki" is the directory where MediaWiki is installed. A skin is made up of a single PHP file, and a directory with its CSS files and images. For example, a skin called "My Great Skin" will consist of /path-to-your-wiki/skins/MyGreatSkin.php and /path-to-your-wiki/skins/mygreatskin. Unlike WordPress, you have to update your skin files by hand on your MediaWiki server. Be sure to back up your entire working installation before you start, just in case something goes wrong.

Newbie MediaWiki skin developers would do well to start with a copy of the MonoBook skin files and modify them. WikiHow (another MediaWiki-based site!) offers a simple tutorial on how to do that: How to Create a MediaWiki Skin Based on the MonoBook Skin. You can always preview a skin in your user Preferences->Skins area as you develop to make sure things look how you want. The (X)HTML markup for your skin will be located in its .php file and the CSS files will be located in the skin's folder. Be sure to save any skin-specific images in the skin's folder as well.

Once your skin development is complete, you want to set it as the default for everyone who looks at your wiki, whether or not they're logged in. To do so, in /path-to-your-wiki/LocalSettings.php, set the $wgDefaultSkin variable to to the name of your custom skin and refresh your wiki.

MediaWiki Extensions

Like WordPress, MediaWiki is an extensible web application, and several MediaWiki plug-ins that add functionality to MediaWiki are available for free. Unlike WordPress, MediaWiki extensions require manually copying files into your MediaWiki installation directory and hand-editing the LocalSettings.php file.

Three MediaWiki extensions you may find useful include:

The EmbedVideo extension helps you include a YouTube, Google Video, Dailymotion, or Revver video clip into your wiki pages.
The Cite extension makes creating page footnotes (ala Wikipedia) easy.
The WhosOnline extension shows what users are currently logged into your wiki.

These three extensions are just the beginning. See MediaWiki's list of extensions by category for more.

To install an extension, download its zip file and extract it to the /path-to-your-wiki/extensions/ directory. Then, in your LocalSettings.php file, add a line that includes the extension file. For example, to activate the Cite extension, you'd use the line require_once("$IP/extensions/Cite/Cite.php");. (Each extension's homepage will provide the line of code you'll need to install it, and how to use the extension once it is installed.)

MediaWiki User Permissions

The primary purpose of a wiki is to give anyone the ability to edit its pages, but MediaWiki is customizable enough that you can limit that access if you're concerned about vandalism, or if you want only certain users to be able to change content.

For example, MediaWiki comes with a mechanism to register users, so people can create an account at your wiki and log in. This comes in handy if you want to restrict edit access to only people who are logged into your wiki. Likewise, you can "protect" pages on your wiki and grant only certain users "editprotected" page access.

To set your MediaWiki user permissions, you have to edit the LocalSettings.php file. For example, to disable the ability for anyone who visits your wiki to edit its pages, create pages, or add to talk pages, use this code:

$wgGroupPermissions['*']['edit'] = false; $wgGroupPermissions['*']['createtalk'] = false; $wgGroupPermissions['*']['createpage'] = false;

Above, the * represents all users.

A default group called "user" refers to visitors who have created an account and logged into your wiki. To give them edit privileges, add the following to your LocalSettings.php file:

$wgGroupPermissions['user']['edit'] = true;

You can even restrict edit access only to users who have created an account AND verified their email address with this code in LocalSettings.php:

# Disable for everyone. $wgGroupPermissions['*']['edit'] = false; # Disable for users, too: by default 'user' is allowed to edit, even if '*' is not. $wgGroupPermissions['user']['edit'] = false; # Make it so users with confirmed e-mail addresses are in the group. $wgAutopromote['emailconfirmed'] = APCOND_EMAILCONFIRMED; # Hide group from user list. $wgImplicitGroups[] = 'emailconfirmed'; # Finally, set it to true for the desired group. $wgGroupPermissions['emailconfirmed']['edit'] = true;

MediaWiki's user rights scheme is complex but deeply customizable. See the Manual's User Rights page for a full list of rights, default groups, and how to create your own groups with custom access privileges.

More MediaWiki Customization Fun

This overview of skins, extensions, and user permissions is just a broad look at what's possible in the world of MediaWiki customization. Here are links to a few more common tweaks you might make to your wiki:

Set your logo image: If you're using MonoBook or another skin that uses a wiki logo, set it to your custom image.
Prettify your wiki URLs: By default, MediaWiki's page URLs look like /index.php?title=Your_Page, but an .htaccess file tweak can make them look like Wikipedia's clean /wiki/Your_Page links.
Set a custom Main Page: If "Main Page" isn't the first two words you want your wiki's visitors to see, you can move the Main Page to a custom page you create and name.
Use MediaWiki templates for reusable modules: If you use repetitive page elements, like an image with a caption formatted a certain way, set up a MediaWiki template for easy reuse.
Make your wiki read-only with $wgReadOnly: To disable editing on all pages across the board on your wiki, set the $wgReadOnly variable to an explanatory string in your LocalSettings.php file. For example, the line $wgReadOnly = "Wiki locked for maintenance"; will disable editing of all pages, and display that message to anyone who tries to edit a page.

What are your favorite MediaWiki customizations, extensions, or skins? Share 'em in the comments.

Gina Trapani, Lifehacker's founding editor, is very excited to finally co-author a book for real using MediaWiki. Her weekly feature, Smarterware, appears every Wednesday on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Smarterware tag feed to get new installments in your newsreader.

Neopythonic: Python in the Scientific World

2009-11-05T20:08:33Z

Yesterday I attended a biweekly meeting of an informal a UC Berkeley group devoted to Python in science (Py4Science), organized by Fernando Perez. The format (in honor of my visit) was a series of 4-minute lightning talks about various projects using Python in the scientific world (at Berkeley and elsewhere) followed by an hourlong Q&A session. This meant I didn't have to do a presentation and still got to interact with the audience for an hour -- my ideal format.

I was blown away by the wide variety of Python use for scientific work. It looks like Python (with extensions like numpy) is becoming a standard tool for many sciences that need to process large amounts of data, from neuroimaging to astronomy.

Orbitals

2009-11-04T05:00:00Z

The Golden Age of Infinite Music

2009-11-01T07:03:00Z

Over at the BBC, music journalist John Harris speculates on what may become of the music business now that we have entered the golden age of infinite music. "I've just poured the music-related contents of my brain into a book, and I would imagine that 30-ish years worth of knowledge about everyone from Funkadelic to The Smiths has probably cost me a five-figure sum, a stupid amount spent on music publications, and endless embarrassed moments spent trying to have a conversation with those arrogant blokes who tend to work in record shops. Last weekend, by contrast, I had a long chat about music with the 16-year-old son of a friend, and my mind boggled. At virtually no cost, in precious little time and with zero embarrassment, he had become an expert on all kinds of artists, from English singer-songwriters like Nick Drake and John Martyn to such American indie-rock titans as Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. Though only a sixth-former, he seemingly knew as much about most of these people as any music writer. Like any rock-oriented youth, his appetite for music is endless, and so is the opportunity..."

Cracking PGP In the Cloud

2009-11-03T10:17:00Z

pariax writes "So you wanna build your own massively distributed password cracking infrastructure? Electric Alchemy has published a writeup detailing their experiences cracking PGP ZIP archives using brute force computing power provided by Amazon EC2 and a distributed password cracker from Elcomsoft."

You bring your doom upon yourself, feline.

2009-10-22T16:00:14Z

You bring your doom upon yourself, feline.

ur prayer haz bin answered.

Picture by: Brooke Pennington Caption by: dunno source via Our LOL Builder

» Recaption This!

» View All Captions

“piece out our imperfections with your thoughts”

2009-11-03T15:29:34Z

Shared by Firas
This note is the basis of fascism

writes mike in provo, utah: “this is a letter my friend liz found on the windshield of her car during the time she was dating her now-husband. they framed the note, and now have it proudly displayed in their living room.”

related: a substance user and a player!

What Stormtroopers do on Their Day Off | WildAmmo.com

2009-10-15T15:49:35Z

Shared by Tom Campion
HT: Ben

Stormtroopers aren't fighting in battles every single day like you see in the Star Wars films. Here's what they do when they have some free time.

The woman who can't stop orgasming

2009-10-13T16:49:58Z

The following true story was told to me by a woman who chooses to remain anonymous for privacy reasons. If you think you have Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder, you can visit this forum for help. I had my first orgasm at the age of 17. I was sitting at my desk at school when all of a sudden, I felt a warm, pulsing feeling in my genital area. My vagina flared up and I couldn't think straight. It was like someone had squeegeed my thoughts away. I was like, whoa, what's that? It felt really erotic and good, but I was also freaked out, scared, and confused. After that, it started happening a few times a day. I searched online for spontaneous orgasms, but all I found was weird porn. It kept getting worse. During my second semester of senior year, I counted orgasms on a sheet of paper. I was having 100 and 200 a day. I ran to hide in the bathroom between classes to relieve the pressure. By the time I started college, the orgasms became even more intense and disruptive, and I was having trouble concentrating. I became really depressed. I didn't know what was wrong with me, and I wasn't getting any better. I cried a lot. I hid in the bathroom. I became violently protective of my privacy. In the beginning, I told everyone I trusted about my condition. People said things like: "You're so lucky!" and "Dude, I'd love to date you." They didn't understand why I wanted it to go away, and labeled me a drama queen. The school psychiatrist thought I was crazy. After my sophomore year, I bought a bunch of vibrators and took medical leave.One day in 2003, a friend sent me an article in the Boston Globe about a newly discovered condition called Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome*. When I read it, I started crying hysterically — it described exactly what I was going through. I immediately made an appointment at the institute the article linked to, and after hours of tests, I was diagnosed with PSAS. My engorged genitalia and hypersensitivity made me a textbook case. Every other doctor had thought I was just a delusional hypochondriac. PSAS feels like having a second heartbeat. No, it's more than that. It's alive — it has its own life force, a mind of its own. I often wonder if this is how teenage boys feel about their erections. My parents pretend my PSAS doesn't exist. It makes me feel uncomfortable and rejected. My mother is very conservative — she has trouble saying the word "orgasm" out loud, and she thinks I'm a pervert because I have toys. A couple months ago, out of the blue, she said, "You still having that orgasm problem?" That was only the second time she asked about it since 2003. I sometimes wish I could make reference to it in normal conversations without feeling like a freak, but I understand that PSAS isn't exactly dinner conversation. Every time I do something, I have to evaluate my situation. Where am I? Are there other people around? How well do I know them? What is the likelihood that, if I don't get someplace private in time, things could get complicated? Can I make noise? (Being vocal isn't necessary, but it helps release more of the pressure.) I avoid triggers — things like music with heavy bass, vibrations from riding a train or an idle car, cold air, musky cologne, darkness, stress, scary movies, romantic movies, unexpected touch, a full bladder. PSAS is completely unrelated to sex drive. Watching sex scenes does nothing for me, but the other day, when a friend put his hand on my back, I found it really hard to contain a screaming orgasm. If my heart rate shoots up too high for too long, I flare up. I avoided exercise and gained a lot of weight. One time, I was hugging a male relative and I felt an orgasm arise. It felt really dirty and wrong, and I totally freaked out. Now, I try to avoid hugs in general unless I feel ready for them. I've been with my boyfriend for about six years, but we still haven't had sex. I don't know if I'll ever be ready to do it. Because of a vulvar pain disorder I have that sometimes comes with PSAS, I know it will hurt like hell. Others who have PSAS say that sex is not satisfying at all — the orgasms associated with sex are nothing compared to the ones induced by the condition. Sometimes I wish I could have sex with him because I think he deserves to have a 'real' girlfriend, but honestly, I just enjoy being held by him and not having it feel inappropriate. He's been very patient and understanding; he's my best friend, and we talk every night. I'm 24 now, and have learned to manage PSAS pretty well. I discovered dancing — it's a great alternative to jogging because it's not as cardio-intensive. As long I take breaks between routines, folk dancing or doing salsa doesn't cause a flare up. Last week, I was at the movies and had to leave twice because I was flaring up. Each time, I ran to the bathroom and tapped my heels on the floor to hear if there was anyone else around. Then I locked myself into a stall, braced myself against the stall door, and let the orgasm run its course. I missed about 15 minutes of the film, but that's just one of the many things that result from managing PSAS and its collateral damage. My orgasms feel like a cosmic joke. I don't know why this happened to me and not someone else. If I didn't have PSAS, I'd be much more outgoing, and I probably would have finished college two years earlier. I'd have a normal sex life. I feel like I'm lugging around a shadow, a ghost that I just can't shake. It depresses me that I'm stuck with it, probably for the rest of my life, but strangely enough, I don't want to be cured instantly of PSAS. It appeared suddenly in my life, and if it disappeared just as suddenly, I would always be looking over my shoulder, and I'm not sure I would know who I was. I would rather have it slowly fade away, but if it doesn't, well, I'm doing my best to make peace with this part of my life. *The name of this condition was recently changed to Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder to remove the stigma that this is a sexual disease. PGAD will be officially recognized in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which comes out in 2012.

xkcd: volume 0

2009-10-13T04:37:44Z

Breadpig Publishing were kind enough to send me a review copy of xkcd: volume 0, the first-ever collection of strips from Randall Munroe's fantastic, unrepentantly geeky webcomic XKCD: A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

I've been a fan of XKCD since I happened upon his Help! I'm Trapped in a Universe Factory strip, and Randall was kind enough to write a fictionalized version of me into later toons. We got to meet last summer at a science fiction convention in Springfield, Mass, and hit it off like a house on fire.

So I was delighted to find myself holding an actual book -- cover price $18, portion of profits goes to building schools in Laos through the Room to Read charity -- and turning the pages. Randall once told me that he'd rejected earlier book offers because his older strips were only available at a very low resolution, and it seems like many of these were included on the basis that they're funny and interesting enough to overlook the lower-quality reproductions. The tool-tips -- hidden punchlines that show up if you hover your mouse over the XKCD strips -- are included as small-caps print tucked among the frames, and this is nearly as good as the screen experience.

The book is full of eastereggs; the pages appear to be numbered in ternary. There is a cryptographic puzzle hidden in the margins, along with many small, Sergio-Argones-like doodles and gags. More than anything, xkcd: volume 0 feels like it is a part of the XKCD continuum, a mix of blog, webcomic, doodle and tweet, handsomely presented and long overdue.

xkcd: volume 0

Previously:

XKCD book is out - Boing Boing

Fireplace named world's most beautiful object

2009-10-12T18:13:24Z

I don't normally believe in throwing around superlatives, but this suspended black steel fireplace designed by French company Focus just won the award for World's Most Beautiful Object at the Pulchra design competition in Italy. Pulchra calls itself "the first beauty contest devoted exclusively to objects." Other candidates included a Philips TV, a Sony Ericsson phone, and a diamond. World's most beautiful object... officially

Fall Foliage

2009-10-12T04:00:00Z

Lambda Calculus (at Safalra's Website)

2009-10-12T03:35:12Z

Shared by Firas
I wish I were independently wealthy so I can spend my days on my island coding for open source and reading stuff like this

Pages about Lambda Calculus on Safalra's Website

The Berlin Reunion - The Big Picture - Boston.com

2009-10-11T17:31:07Z

Shared by Firas
This is pretty cute. Google the video as well.

Earlier this week, 1.5 million people filled the streets of Berlin, Germany to watch a several-day performance by France's Royal de Luxe street theatre company titled "The Berlin Reunion". Part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Reunion show featured two massive marionettes, the Big Giant, a deep-sea diver, and his niece, the Little Giantess. The storyline of the performance has the two separated by a wall, thrown up by "land and sea monsters". The Big Giant has just returned from a long and difficult - but successful - expedition to destroy the wall, and now the two are walking the streets of Berlin, seeking each other after many years apart. I'll let the photos below tell the rest of the story.

So you want my job: Name Consultant

2009-10-10T04:08:17Z

Comments

NBA.com: The big pretzel? Shaq adding yoga to list of new hobbies

2009-10-09T00:49:25Z

Shared by Firas
That yoga studio is less than a mile away from Maggie's mom's house.

"His thighs are gigantic and so strong, they're as big as my whole body," Schneider said. "So he was able to cross his ankles and that was just fine."

This Insane Photo Destroyed a Camera Lens [Space]

2009-10-01T21:40:00Z

Photographer Ben Cooper took this photo of a Delta 4-Heavy rocket launching at Cape Canaveral using a sound-activated camera. And when your camera is that close to a launch, your lens probably won't survive.

The particular setup for this was sound activated. The lens was destroyed (worth it of course) but the camera survived this one despite being severed from its ratchet straps and thrown to the ground, and the sound device used for this one disconnected from the camera and thrown about 200 feet backwards into the pad perimeter fence (still worked!). All settings are preset manually. No one is allowed closer than several miles from a launch.

Well, that's awesome. [Airliners.net, Thanks, Jason!]

Forced Coding

2009-10-08T20:56:12Z

Shared by Firas
Great tips for getting in the zone. Can be applied to writing dissertation.

FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION : PRESS ROOM

2009-10-07T20:24:45Z

Shared by Firas
cool

“We have received numerous applications from states and groups of states for the development of high-speed and intercity passenger rail programs for grant funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These include 45 applications from 24 states totaling approximately $50 billion to advance high-speed rail corridor programs. We also received 214 applications from 34 states totaling $7 billion for corridor planning and smaller projects.

Due to the overwhelming response and our desire to lay the groundwork for a truly national high-speed and intercity passenger rail program, we will be announcing all awards this winter. Our selections will be merit-based and will reflect President Obama’s vision to remake America’s transportation landscape. We look forward to further evaluating these proposals and spurring economic development while providing Americans with clean, energy-efficient transportation choices in the years and decades to come.”

Popular Logos with Hidden Symbolisms

2009-09-28T21:53:43Z

Shared by Tom Campion
Mad props to KMFO.

Some logos are very creative and have subtle symbols and messages that represents something about the company it stands for. We explore a handful of such logos in this collection.

Big 10

The Big Ten Conference is the United States’ oldest Division 1 college athletic conference. Since Penn State joined in 1990, there have been 11 schools in the Big Ten. They revamped their logo by placing a hidden number 11 on either sides of the letter T to stand for the actual number of schools in the division.

Goodwill

Goodwill is a nonprofit organization that helps disadvantaged people in North America. The letter G in the logo is a smiling face, conveying the notion that Goodwill provides happiness and relief to those in need.

Sun Microsystems

If you look at the diamond icon on the left of the company’s name, you will see that it spells out Sun starting from any corner. It is a wonderful example of symmetry.

Amazon

This logo has been around for over a decade, but many people do not know that there’s a hidden symbolism in Amazon’s logo. The arrow from A to Z represents that the website sells everything from A to Z, and doubles as a "smile" to suggest satisfied customers.

Toblerone

In the company’s logo, you will see a bear hidden in the mountain. The bear is the symbol of the city of Berne in Switzerland where Toblerone is produced.

Baskin Robbins

At first glance, this logo looks simply like the initials for Baskin Robins but if you take a second look, you will see the number 31 in the acronym (highlighted in a pink color). This stems from the idea that Baskin Robbins sells 31 types of ice cream, one for each day of the month.

FedEx

The hidden rightward-pointing arrow in the negative space between the letter E and X conveys the speed and precision of the company’s delivery service.

Hope for African Children Initiative

At first glance, this logo looks like a map of Africa, but if you take a closer look, you will see two people facing each other.

Milwaukee Brewers

The old Milwaukee Brewers logo uses the team’s initials (B and M) to form a catcher’s glove holding a ball.

Northwest Airlines

The old Northwest Airlines logo has a very clever icon. Not only does the icon on the left of the text spell out N and W, but the arrow and circle symbolizes a compass pointing in the northwestern direction.

About the Author

Thomas Hardy is a freelance web designer from Newcastle upon Tyne (UK), here is his portfolio. He founded Web Designer Help and Swick, where he regularly blogs. You will also find him on Twitter and Facebook.

Firas Wehbe [GReader]

Customize MediaWiki into Your Ultimate Collaborative Web Site [Mediawiki]

When and Why MediaWiki?

MediaWiki Installation and Basic Usage

MediaWiki Skins

MediaWiki Extensions

MediaWiki User Permissions

More MediaWiki Customization Fun

Neopythonic: Python in the Scientific World

Orbitals

The Golden Age of Infinite Music

Cracking PGP In the Cloud

You bring your doom upon yourself, feline.

“piece out our imperfections with your thoughts”

What Stormtroopers do on Their Day Off | WildAmmo.com

The woman who can't stop orgasming

xkcd: volume 0

Fireplace named world's most beautiful object

Fall Foliage

Lambda Calculus (at Safalra's Website)

The Berlin Reunion - The Big Picture - Boston.com

So you want my job: Name Consultant

NBA.com: The big pretzel? Shaq adding yoga to list of new hobbies

This Insane Photo Destroyed a Camera Lens [Space]

Forced Coding

FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION : PRESS ROOM

Popular Logos with Hidden Symbolisms

Big 10

Goodwill

Sun Microsystems

Amazon

Toblerone

Baskin Robbins

FedEx

Hope for African Children Initiative

Milwaukee Brewers

Northwest Airlines

Related Content

About the Author