Wiki: Pedia

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:** All edits are stored with timestamps and the author’s name or IP.
- **Interlinking:** It’s easy to create links between pages, forming an interconnected knowledge base.
- **Lightweight markup:** Formatting is usually handled by lightweight markup languages (e.g., WikiText or Markdown).
- **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.

Frequent uses
- Community-driven knowledge bases (for example, Wikipedia)
- Internal documentation and company knowledge bases
- Collaborative writing and shared note-taking
- Classroom and educational projects

Benefits
- **Fast collaboration:** Contributors can rapidly create and improve content.
- **Openness:** Transparency through revision histories and discussions.
- **Expandable:** Wikis expand easily as contributors add and organize content.

Drawbacks
- **Vandalism and false information:** Open editing may allow intentional or accidental inaccuracies.
- **Inconsistent quality:** Content quality may vary widely between pages.
- **Organizational issues:** Poor coordination or governance can cause content fragmentation and disputes.

Illustration
- **Wikipedia** — the best-known wiki, run by the Wikimedia Foundation and built by volunteer contributors worldwide.