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.

Key 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:** 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:** 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.

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

Benefits
- **Fast collaboration:** Contributors can rapidly create and improve content.
- **Openness:** Edit histories and talk pages reveal how content decisions were made.
- **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>