This is a cross post from the Studio Wikitecture blog:
Since 2007, the Wiki Tree software development has been funded by Studio Wikitecture and developed by i3D Inc. We’ve considered the software development process to be experimental, just as we’ve considered the ongoing Studio Wikitecture projects to be experiments in collaboration using Second Life.
The Studio Wikitecture experiments have had great success — winning the Founders Award in the 2008 Open Architecture Network Challenge and the2009 Linden Prize. But how can we build on that momentum? One thing has become clear — the Wiki Tree software needs to grow in many ways. It needs to be easier to set up and easier to use by project collaborators. It needs new features to make it useful for a wider range of projects, from the small in-world build to large designs that will be built in the physical world. It needs better integration with the rest of the Web and with other 3D modeling applications. The list goes on and on. And by ourselves, we don’t have the resources to make that happen.
So we’re liberating the Wiki Tree software. We’re releasing all the code, both in-world and server-side under the Berkeley Software Distribution license. Omei Turnbull (Roger Wellington-Oguri in RL), a long time Studio Wikitecture contributor, has agreed to shepherd the project, and has set up a project home at
https://sourceforge.net/projects/wikitree3d. The source code has been uploaded and we’re in the process of creating a Wiki, discussion forums, and an issue tracker.
It is our hope that the Open Source Wiki Tree 3D project will take on a life of its own, and grow to be something bigger and better than we can currently conceive of. But that’s up to you and the rest of the community. If you do use the Wiki Tree, we hope you will give back to the project in whatever way you can, whether that be helping other users, submitting code enhancements, or just spreading the word. But that isn’t a requirement. The BSD License is a “permissive” license, meaning you can do most anything you want with the code, commercial or non-commercial, with or without contributing back to the community project.
Studio Wikitecture itself will be actively engaged in the Open Source Wiki Tree 3D project. We’ll also be offering project hosting, facilitation, training, technical assistance and support. If you would like assistance with setting up a Wiki-Tree, hosting a project on the Studio Wikitecture website, or conducting a Wikitecture project, please send us an email at info@studiowikitecture.com.
To the future!
