WikiMSK:Version 1.35 Upgrade

WikiMSK has been upgraded to version 1.35 of MediaWiki. MediaWiki is the software used to run the website, the same software used by Wikipedia and countless other wikis. Other than security updates, the big news with this version is that WikiMSK now has Visual Editor. This is a "visual" way of editing articles and is far more user friendly than the older complex annotation system. You can read how to use it here. The older editor is still available to use for more granular editing control.

On the wish list is getting Citoid set up on WikiMSK. At the moment with the visual editor, to insert references you have to put in all the details manually such as author name, journal name, article title, etc. Citoid is a programme that allows automatic retrieval of information. It allows you for example to simply put in a textbooks ISBN, or article DOI, and it automatically fetches all the other relevant information for the reference. Installing this programme is quite complicated, and it may not be possible with the current server setup. WikiMSK does have a similar programme that works with the older editor called PubMed Parser. This allows you to put in the article PMID and it fetches the journal information. You can read more about referencing in the relevant help page.

Other updates:

• Graph extension that works with Visual Editor for a visual way of inserting graphs. Mermaid is also available which is a charting and diagramming tool, but this requires using the older editor.
• Google analytics has been installed. We are getting about 20 unique visitors a day, mostly from the USA.
• Semantic MediaWiki has been disabled. This was trialled for a few months but it adds unnecessary complexity to WikiMSK.

Date: 30/4/21