Wiki: Pedia

<p>A wiki is a website designed for collaborative editing, letting many people create, update, and organize content directly in a web browser.

Simplicity and openness are central to wikis: anyone can often add or change pages without technical knowledge, and edits are usually logged for review or rollback.

Main features
- **Collaborative editing:** Multiple people can edit the same pages, occasionally concurrently.
- **Edit history:** Each change is logged with a time and the editor’s name or IP.
- **Interlinking:** It’s easy to create links between pages, forming an interconnected knowledge base.
- **Lightweight markup:** Simple markup languages (such as WikiText or Markdown) are used to format pages.
- **Permission settings:** Wikis may allow public editing or restrict changes to registered or authorized users.
- **Discussion pages:** Talk or discussion pages let contributors debate edits and organization.

Typical uses
- Crowd-sourced knowledge resources (e.g., Wikipedia)
- Project docs and corporate knowledge repositories
- Cooperative writing and shared notes
- Educational and classroom projects

Pros
- **Fast collaboration:** Multiple people can add and refine content quickly.
- **Openness:** Visibility into edits and discussions shows how decisions were reached.
- **Expandable:** Wikis expand easily as contributors add and organize content.

Cons
- **Vandalism and false information:** Open contribution can result in deliberate or accidental misinformation.
- **Inconsistent quality:** Content quality may vary widely between pages.
- **Organizational issues:** Without clear governance, content may become fragmented or disputed.

Notable example
- **Wikipedia** — a well-known wiki operated by the Wikimedia Foundation and written by volunteers around the globe.</p>