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.

Wikis prioritize ease of use and openness: pages can be added or changed without technical expertise, and most track every edit so changes can be reviewed or undone.

Common 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:** Links between pages are simple to create, helping build connected content.
- **Lightweight markup:** Formatting is usually handled by lightweight markup languages (e.g., WikiText or Markdown).
- **Permission settings:** Some wikis are open to anyone; others limit edits to registered users or specific groups.
- **Discussion pages:** Talk or discussion pages let contributors debate edits and organization.

Frequent uses
- Community-driven knowledge bases (for example, Wikipedia)
- Project docs and corporate knowledge repositories
- Cooperative writing and shared notes
- Classroom and educational projects

Advantages
- **Fast collaboration:** Contributors can rapidly create and improve content.
- **Openness:** Visibility into edits and discussions shows how decisions were reached.
- **Expandable:** They scale organically as users add more pages and topics.

Limitations
- **Vandalism and false information:** Public editing can lead to vandalism or incorrect information.
- **Inconsistent quality:** Content quality may vary widely between pages.
- **Organizational issues:** Poor coordination or governance can cause content fragmentation and disputes.

Example
- **Wikipedia** — the best-known wiki, run by the Wikimedia Foundation and built by volunteer contributors worldwide.</p>