There are many different kinds of content management systems out there, and from the outside, they might look similar, but under the hood, their architectures are often quite different.

What effect does this difference have on their communities? This presentation will argue that the effect is quite large.

We will examine the architecture of three different CMSs: Drupal, ImpressCMS/XOOPS, and TikiWiki. They represent three very different architectural approaches, from highly modular (Drupal) to monolithic (TikiWiki). Arguably, the nature of the communities around each CMS can be attributed largely to their architecture, and the kind of participation it encourages.

This presentation will include a detailed technical examination of how the CMSs function, some knowledge of PHP will be an asset but not required. The balance of the discussion will be around the communities, and will not require technical knowledge.