Mostly Harmless - Timeboxed Collaborative Wiki Hub

A federated wiki plugin that enables timeboxed collaborative contribution. Multiple users can contribute content within a limited time window, with each contributor getting their own linked page on the main hub.

Features

• ⏱️ Countdown Timer - Visual countdown showing time remaining (5 minutes by default)
• 👥 Collaborative Hub - Multiple users contribute to create a collection of linked pages
• 🔗 Individual Content Spaces - Each contributor gets their own wiki page
• 📋 Contributor List - Main hub displays links to all contributor pages
• 🔗 Shareable URLs - Generate unique session URLs to invite collaborators
• 🎨 Clean UI - Gradient design with responsive layout
• ✅ Sessionless Auth Ready - Built with support for Sessionless authentication

Installation

npm install wiki-plugin-mostly-harmless

IMPORTANT: After installation, restart your wiki server for the plugin to load.

If you encounter issues, see TROUBLESHOOTING.md.

Usage

Creating a New Session

Add a mostly-harmless item to your wiki page:

{
  "type": "mostly-harmless",
  "id": "abc123"
}

When the page loads, a new collaborative editing session will be created automatically with a 5-minute timer.

Joining an Existing Session

To join an existing session, add a mostly-harmless item with a sessionId:

{
  "type": "mostly-harmless",
  "id": "abc123",
  "sessionId": "your-session-id-here"
}

How It Works

1. Owner (logged in) creates a session - Adds the plugin to their wiki page, creating a new timeboxed session
2. Owner clicks "View Hub Page" - The green button navigates to the hub page where all contributions will be linked
3. Owner shares the hub page URL - Copies and sends the URL to collaborators
4. Contributors (NOT logged in) can participate - No authentication required to view or contribute!
5. Contributors click "Contribute" - Opens a full-screen writing interface
6. Contributors enter their handle - Any name/pseudonym they choose
7. Contributors type content - Up to 2000 characters
8. Contributors click Submit - Each gets their own wiki page created automatically
9. Hub page updates - The hub page now shows a link to the new contribution page
10. Session expires - After 5 minutes, no more contributions accepted

Important: Only the page owner needs to be logged in. Contributors access the session via the shared URL without any login.

The Hub Page: This is where all the magic happens! The hub page contains:

• The plugin UI showing the timer and contributor count
• Clickable links to every contribution (added as paragraph items to the page)
• Share URL for inviting more contributors

Key Concept: Individual Spaces, Collective Hub

Unlike traditional collaborative editing where everyone edits the same document, Mostly Harmless gives each contributor their own content space:

• Each contributor gets their own wiki page - No overwriting or conflicts
• The hub page collects all the links - Easy navigation to all contributions
• Time-boxed collaboration - Creates urgency and focused contribution windows
• Perfect for brainstorming sessions - Everyone contributes their own ideas
• Great for anthology creation - Multiple authors, linked from one hub

Architecture

Client-Side (client/mostly-harmless.js)

• Renders the hub interface with countdown timer
• Handles user input (handle and content)
• Submits content to server
• Displays list of all contributors with links to their pages
• Auto-refreshes timer every second
• Updates contributor list in real-time after submissions

Server-Side (server/server.js)

• Manages sessions in-memory (Map data structure)
• Creates new sessions with expiration times
• Accepts content submissions and generates page slugs
• Tracks multiple contributions per session
• Validates session expiration
• Cleans up expired sessions automatically

API Endpoints

POST /plugin/mostly-harmless/create-session

• Creates a new collaborative hub session
• Returns: { sessionId, createdAt, expiresAt, contributions }

GET /plugin/mostly-harmless/session/:sessionId

• Retrieves session information
• Returns: Session details and all contributions with page URLs

POST /plugin/mostly-harmless/submit

• Submits content to a session and creates a page URL
• Body: { sessionId, handle, content }
• Returns: { success, contribution, pageUrl, contributionCount }
• Each contribution gets a unique page slug: mostly-harmless-{sessionId}-{handle-slug}

GET /plugin/mostly-harmless/session/:sessionId/history (optional)

• Retrieves full list of contributions for a session

Configuration

Session Duration

Default: 5 minutes (300 seconds)

To change the duration, modify SESSION_DURATION in client/mostly-harmless.js:

const SESSION_DURATION = 300; // 5 minutes in seconds

And SESSION_DURATION_MS in server/server.js:

const SESSION_DURATION_MS = 5 * 60 * 1000; // 5 minutes

Content Limits

• Handle: 30 characters max
• Content: 2000 characters max

Use Cases

Brainstorming Sessions

• Host creates a session with a topic prompt
• Team members contribute their ideas within 5 minutes
• All ideas linked from one central hub page
• Perfect for async or synchronous brainstorming

Writing Anthologies

• Create a collaborative short story collection
• Each author writes their own piece
• Hub page becomes the table of contents
• Time limit encourages focused writing

Event Coverage

• Multiple reporters covering an event
• Each submits their perspective
• Hub aggregates all viewpoints
• Creates a multi-faceted event record

Learning Exercises

• Teacher creates a session with a prompt
• Students submit their responses
• Hub becomes a gallery of student work
• Encourages participation without direct competition

Wiki Page Creation

✅ Implemented! When a user submits their contribution, the plugin automatically creates a real wiki page for them.

Page Structure

Each contributor's page includes:

• Title: "{Handle}'s Contribution"
• Content: The full text they submitted
• Attribution: "—{Handle}"
• Timestamp: When it was submitted

Page Format

{
  "title": "Alice's Contribution",
  "story": [
    {
      "type": "paragraph",
      "text": "The actual content submitted by the user..."
    },
    {
      "type": "paragraph",
      "text": "—Alice"
    },
    {
      "type": "paragraph",
      "text": "Submitted 1/19/2026, 3:45:00 PM"
    }
  ]
}

What Happens

1. User submits contribution
2. Server generates unique page slug: mostly-harmless-{sessionId}-{handle-slug}
3. Server creates actual wiki page using fedwiki's pagehandler
4. Page appears in wiki's page list
5. "View Page →" link works immediately
6. Page is discoverable via wiki search

Future Enhancements

Sessionless Authentication Integration

The plugin is designed to integrate with Sessionless authentication:

// Generate signature for session access
const sessionUrl = await sessionless.generateAuthenticatedUrl(sessionId);

This would enable:

• Verified identities for contributors
• Access control (only invited users can join)
• Cryptographically signed submissions
• Contributor verification

BDO Persistence

Instead of in-memory sessions, use BDO (Big Dumb Object) storage:

// Save session to BDO
await bdo.updateBDO(uuid, `mostly-harmless-${sessionId}`, sessionData, true);

// Retrieve session from BDO
const sessionData = await bdo.getBDO(uuid, `mostly-harmless-${sessionId}`);

Benefits:

• Sessions persist across server restarts
• Distributed session management
• Long-term archival of collaborative history

Real-Time Updates

Add WebSocket support for live updates:

// Notify all connected clients when new contribution added
io.to(sessionId).emit('new-contribution', contribution);

Users would see new contributors appear in real-time without refreshing the page.

Development

Build

No build step required - pure JavaScript.

Testing Locally

1. Install in your federated wiki instance:

   npm install /path/to/wiki-plugin-mostly-harmless

2. Restart your wiki server

3. Add a mostly-harmless item to a page

4. Open the page and start collaborating!

License

MIT

Author

Planet Nine (planetnineisaspaceship)

Links

• GitHub Repository
• Planet Nine Ecosystem
• Federated Wiki

Date

January 19, 2026 - Initial release