Wiki: Pedia

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

They emphasize simplicity and openness — pages can be created or modified without special technical skills, and most maintain an edit history so revisions can be reviewed or reverted.

Common features
- **Collaborative editing:** Numerous contributors can work on pages, sometimes simultaneously.
- **Edit history:** All edits are stored with timestamps and the author’s name or IP.
- **Interlinking:** Creating links among pages is straightforward, which helps interconnect content.
- **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:** Separate talk pages allow contributors to discuss edits and structure.

Typical uses
- Crowd-sourced knowledge resources (e.g., Wikipedia)
- Project docs and corporate knowledge repositories
- Collaborative writing and shared note-taking
- Classroom and educational projects

Benefits
- **Fast collaboration:** Contributors can rapidly create and improve content.
- **Openness:** Visibility into edits and discussions shows how decisions were reached.
- **Expandable:** Wikis expand easily as contributors add and organize content.

Drawbacks
- **Vandalism and false information:** Open contribution can result in deliberate or accidental misinformation.
- **Inconsistent quality:** Entries may vary in accuracy, style, and completeness.
- **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.