InterLink

InterLinks are links to other wikis. Most WikiEngines support InterLinks. They have the form: TargetWiki:TargetPage.

For example:

WikiFeatures:InterLink

InterLinks rely on an map, called an “InterMap.” The InterMap consists of a table with two columns: On the left, the name of a wiki. On the right, the prefix for a page entry on the wiki.

For example:

WikiFeatures http://wikifeatures.wiki.taoriver.net/moin.cgi/
WikiNodes http://wikinodes.wiki.taoriver.net/moin.cgi/
CommunityWiki http://communitywiki.org/

Possibilities

Inside Replacement

Some WikiEngines let you use some keyword (e.g. $PAGENAME$) in the second column to specify that the page name should be embedded somewhere inside its URL, rather than simply appended on the end.

For example:

SomeWiki http://somewiki.org/pages/$PAGENAME$/

This would format SomeWiki:Robots as http://somewiki.org/pages/robots/, rather than http://somewiki.org/pages/robots. (The trailing slash may be important in some cases.)

PlanetMath http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/%s.html

relative rather than absolute URIs

Some WikiEngines let you use relative URIs in the right-hand column to specify other locations on the same site – for example, a Deutsch or Espanol version of a page.

See http://www.usemod.com/cgi-bin/mb.pl?SelfReferringInterWiki

Implementations

Most wiki implement the Inter``Link.

Activity

Most activity around the concept of the Inter``Link has to do with figuring out how to either replace the Inter``Link, or the InterMap.

• PublicallyEditableIntermap - Opening up the inter-map.
• FineGrainedAddressing - Linking to paragraphs, or perhaps even individual sentances.
• IntermapWalking - Hopping from inter-map to inter-map.
• NearLink - Automaticly elevating a normal (intra-) wiki link to an external wiki, if there is no internal page.
• UseMod:WikiPatches/InterSiteIcons - add a small image (favicon-like, see screenshot) before an InterLink corresponding to that InterLink. An extended intermap file format is proposed, which is compatible to UseMod 1.0.

Terminology

InterMap - the table telling which wiki have which page prefixes.

Problems

intermap maintenance

Most wiki presently have a fixed InterMap, which demands attention from the wiki administrator.

So, if people come to a wiki and want to mention a page on another wiki, they can’t use Inter``Link``s unless that other wiki is already listed on the InterMap.

See PublicallyEditableIntermap for a solution to the problem.

looks suspiciously like UriSpaceSquatting

If we use a 3-part identifier,

wiki:WikiFeatures:InterLink

then perhaps the “wiki” should be registered using the procedure at http://esw.w3.org/topic/UriSchemes .

Otherwise it looks suspiciously like http://esw.w3.org/topic/UriSpaceSquatting .

See Also

PublicallyEditableIntermap, FineGrainedAddressing, IntermapWalking, NearLink, DifferentExternalLinks

Contributors

LionKimbro

CategoryFeature CategoryInterWiki CategoryLinking