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.

Key features
- **Collaborative editing:** Numerous contributors can work on pages, sometimes simultaneously.
- **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:** Pages are typically formatted with lightweight markup like WikiText or Markdown.
- **Permission settings:** Wikis may allow public editing or restrict changes to registered or authorized users.
- **Discussion pages:** Dedicated discussion pages enable contributors to coordinate and discuss content.

Typical uses
- Crowd-sourced knowledge resources (e.g., Wikipedia)
- Internal documentation and company knowledge bases
- Collaborative writing and shared note-taking
- Classroom and educational projects

Pros
- **Fast collaboration:** Many people can collaborate and iterate quickly on content.
- **Openness:** Visibility into edits and discussions shows how decisions were reached.
- **Expandable:** Wikis can grow naturally as contributors add new topics.

Drawbacks
- **Vandalism and false information:** Public editing can lead to vandalism or incorrect information.
- **Inconsistent quality:** Articles can differ greatly in depth, tone, and reliability.
- **Organizational issues:** Without clear governance, content may become fragmented or disputed.

Example
- **Wikipedia** — the largest example, maintained by the Wikimedia Foundation and contributed to by volunteers worldwide.</p>