Free Link

WikiWord model of not using/requiring Smashed Together Words.

MeatballWiki:FreeLink

Used heavily on MediaWiki/Wikipedia and SocialText sites.

Update from below: in building WikiFlux I went with DoubleBrackets for Automatic Linking for the sake of reader-friendliness.

• I had to add some code to leave punctuation out of URLs, etc. but it's worth it.
• Many FreeLink writers do tend toward having long-phrase page titles, without creating links to "base-reference" pages, making finding TwinPages less effective

My original thinking: A really bad idea (IMHO). Because:

• when you spin off a new page using a Free Link, you increase the odds that no other page will ever link to that new page, because the WikiWord thought pattern is not reinforced, so the WikiWord vocabulary does not converge. This reduces the HyperText Intertwingularity that is one huge benefit of Wiki.
  • see Fractal Dimension Of A Hypertext Space
• this may also increase the odds of redundant pages getting created, unless people are doubly compulsive about trying to find an existing page before creating a new one (with Smashed Together Words, the odds of just "guessing right" are much higher).
• this lack of "vocabulary convergence" also works against the subtle growth of a team's Shared Vocabulary/Shared Language (Community Wiki:LinkLanguage), which supports a Chaordic shared Mission.
• you encourage the creation of ugly URI-s (ack, punctuation!)
• you make it impossible for another wiki to connect to you via Remote Wiki Links or Sister Sites features. This works against growth of a cross-team (or public WikiWeb) Shared Vocabulary.