FileReplacement

FileReplacement is a change control mechanism by which scripts or configuration files on a wiki system (specifically, UseModWiki) may be edited using the same system, enforcing a certain degree of sanity by delaying the commission of changes for an amount of time sufficient to subject those changes to review by system administrators and others in the community.

Allowing immediate public write access to scripts and system files is an inherently insecure practice. However, open modification of information is a vital underlying concept to most wiki systems. FileReplacement is a compromise (ostensibly introduced by MeatballWiki) which allows the editing of a file on the host system by associating that file with a page in the wiki. When that wiki page is edited, the changes of the edit are not immediately committed to the associated file. Instead, a delay time is in effect; after a certain duration, if the page remains unedited, its contents are committed to the file on the system. During that delay period, which is theoretically enough time for proper review, any user (most importantly, a site administrator) is able to revert or edit the changes.

Though in general FileReplacement is effective in providing the sort of "soft security" for which it was created, there has been criticism about the effectiveness of the current implementation. For example, a configuration file (such as InterMapTxt which seems to be its prime application) edited through the wiki may be subject to frequent successive changes, each of which resets the delay time; as a result, changes may take an excessively long time to commit. Fortunately, in fine wiki style, such criticism is remarkably constructive (much of the discussion takes place on the wiki page that defines the mechanism).

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