observations and comments - Donald Noyes
A useful discussion and expression of ideas occured during the hangout today, one of which had to do with the notion of pods, where a roster determines the initial neighborhood of discourse.
I couldn't help but make a mental comparison of the idea which arises from the notion being much like a table of food laid out for the family of members in the pod. Each have brought as it were their own potluck which others may choose to look upon it and to take a portion of it with their own fork of it.
The difference being that no matter how many may fork the food, it still remains. After having the item on their own plate, they may wish to add to it by adding salt, or pepper, sugar, or some other ingredient, thereby making it a different dish than is on the table.
When a member ot the pod does this, it changes what is on the table by offering the changes the member has made as an additonal choice.
There is quite difference between how the notions, ideas and knowledge are shared in a federated wiki distinct from other methods of discourse and presentation mentioned during the hangout, including WikiPedia, the Original Wiki, linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, the other Social Sites including newcomers such as hubzilla, diaspora, and friendica
Some of them exert a great deal of control over what remains on the site, while other allow each member to exercise little or no control beyond likes, dislikes, subscriptions, followings, followers or friends.
Federated Wiki's greatest strength and I believe one which will make it endure, is flexibility it offers each of its members to choose for themselves how they will include or use pages, in a public or private way, either by having their own site or farm site, or by creating their own locally hosted site or sites, tailored to their own likes and dislikes. They participate by sharing and forking pages.
details of Hangout