Mediawiki installation, customization and operation
Contents
Installation
The Madagascar Mediawiki installation consists of:
- A SQL database back-end, that holds text, images, history and user data
- A set of PHP scripts, that dynamically generate the HTML pages
- Auxiliary files uploaded directly to the server
Advanced web hosting providers offer "one-click" installs of Mediawiki, but database migration and PHP customization must still be performed.
Customization
To insert the images/links to the Ohloh, Sourceforge and Cafepress, edit includes/Skin.php to replace the default function getPoweredBy() with:
<php>
function getPoweredBy() { global $wgStylePath; $ohloh = '<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.ohloh.net/p/348236/widgets/project_thin_badge.js"></script>'; $sf1='<a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/rsf">'; $sf2='<img src="http://sflogo.sourceforge.net/sflogo.php?group_id=162909&type=13" width="120" height="30" border="0" '; $sf3='alt="Get Madagascar at SourceForge.net. Fast, secure and Free Open Source software downloads"/></a> '; $sourceforge = $sf1.$sf2.$sf3; $url = htmlspecialchars( "$wgStylePath/common/images/poweredby_mediawiki_88x31.png" ); $banner = htmlspecialchars( "/wikilocal/style/store.png" ); $store = '<a href="http://www.cafepress.com/m8r"> <img src="'.$banner.'" width="88" height="31" border="0" alt="Madagascar Store" /></a> '; $img = $ohloh.$sourceforge.$store.'<a href="http://www.mediawiki.org/"><img src="'.$url.'" alt="MediaWiki" /></a>'; return $img; }
</php>
Operation
Backups
Backups should cover the wiki installation (SQL backups must be made by proper script, not by simply copying a file!), as well as a static copy of a wiki to be used in case the database is corrupted during file transfer.
Defending against spammers and vandals
Allowing only registered users to edit the wiki
This is a measure that was deemed necessary after two years of daily undo-and-block warfare against spammers. To set or unset it,
Disabling registration of new users
This is a temporary measure, to be used as a stopgap against large attacks, until a permanent effective measure has been found.