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What is VaultWiki?
VaultWiki is a commercial software application that ties into existing web-based communities, or forums, and encourages the existing forum users to work together on creating and managing a site's content pages, rather than competing to make popular posts.

Other wiki applications, including many free options, remain separate from forum communities after installation. In those communities, users have to create two separate accounts, one for their forum discussions and one for their wiki contributions. They generally have to learn two different sets of posting techniques, due to differences between posting in wiki applications versus posting in forum applications. Further, the wikis and forums on those communities are presented in visually distinct experiences that unintentionally impede and confuse users. These and other issues create an unnecessary barrier between users and content creation.

Historically, site owners have resorted to a technique called "bridging", which is similar to when your favorite web site allows you to log in using your Facebook account. At the least, this solves the login issues, but even high-quality bridges still show discrepancies between the wiki and forum experience.

For fledgling communities especially, those issues tend to create such a jarring disconnect from the main community that it can often be deadly to the site's success.

Instead, VaultWiki installs as a native app in supported platforms, directly utilizing the user-base, behaviors, and other functionality that the community already uses on a daily basis. The wiki essentially becomes a functioning part of the existing forum community. Thus, VaultWiki increases convenience for forum members and allows for easier, more seamless collaborative efforts. This results in better, richer information and still more enjoyable experiences for those who read the wiki.

Branching Out to More Platforms

Not all forums utilize the same base software to build their communities. There are multiple platforms, such as vBulletin, XenForo, Invision Power Suite, and phpBB.

Since early 2010, our long-term plan for VaultWiki has been to introduce support for an array of additional community platforms. For each additional platform we support, VaultWiki's usage across the web can potentially grow correlative to the platform's own market share. This affects not only our bottom line, but ensures the future of VaultWiki as a software investment that many have already made since its inception in 2008.

A typical negative consideration of using third-party add-ons is the difficulty it poses to potential future migrations, when for example, a site owner decides to switch from vBulletin to Invision. By supporting more community platforms, we strive to keep VaultWiki from becoming one of the sticking points in this process.

Currently VaultWiki is available as a solution for vBulletin and XenForo forum platforms. Now, with the coming release of IPS 4 (Invision Power Suite 4) imminent, we hope to offer an Invision-compatible VaultWiki release within weeks of IPS 4's availability.

At the current time, there is no other native wiki app for Invision suites that we have come across. Only a bridge to MediaWiki and an option to let users edit each other's posts in IP.Content. VaultWiki will fill this hole as a complete wiki solution that also installs as a native IPS application.

How Would VaultWiki Look on IPS4?
VaultWiki generally has a consistent experience regardless of the platform it is used with. However, first, VaultWiki's styles are updated to match the current forum style that the user has selected.

It also integrates with forum functions like search, member profiles, and forum statistics. You can place blocks of wiki content on forum pages too. In IPS, maybe you would put a short wiki article at the top of a Gallery category or above a sub-forum.

VaultWiki roots deep in the forum software and even ties into more "minor" features, such as:

Content Notifications for actions related to wiki content
Users can give/receive Reputation points for wiki content
Easily share wiki content to social networks
New wiki content passes through IPS's central moderation system
There's plenty more. If you have any questions or an idea for tighter integration, just ask! VaultWiki Team is wide open to suggestions and is historically known to implement at least one or two with every new update.

The Coming Kickstarter Campaign
VaultWiki was first born on vBulletin platforms due to crowdfunding support in 2008. When we launched VaultWiki for XenForo in 2013, this was an aspect that had been overlooked, and the lack of up-front support contributed to a lackluster release and a drawn-out beta period. Prior to that, development was forced to drag on at a snail's pace, and reception was ultimately held back by the late public release after expectations had already died down.

These are problems we hope to avoid happening to our integration for IPS4. Within the next several weeks, we will be launching our Kickstarter campaign for VaultWiki's IPS4 integration.

Adding support for a new platform in any time frame is a developer-intensive prospect. Not only that, but launching support for a new platform requires expanded training, marketing, and documentation efforts that all cost time and money.

A successful campaign will help ensure that the product is released on time, in a more polished form.
We'll be giving many contributors credit in the final product. Their names (or aliases, for those who like their privacy) will be immortalized when it ships to clients all around the world.
With certain contribution levels, we're even giving away subscriptions to the final product when it launches. These contribution levels are actually a discount over the sticker price of the current VaultWiki 4.x product line.
With your help and the help of others like you, we can work together to raise the funding needed to mitigate these issues. To get involved, simply sign up above and we'll notify you when we launch the campaign.