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.

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:** Every modification is recorded with a timestamp and the editor’s identity or IP address.
- **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:** Some wikis are open to anyone; others limit edits to registered users or specific groups.
- **Discussion pages:** Separate talk pages allow contributors to discuss edits and structure.

Common uses
- Community knowledge bases such as Wikipedia
- Project docs and corporate knowledge repositories
- Collaborative writing and shared note-taking
- School and instructional projects

Benefits
- **Fast collaboration:** Contributors can rapidly create and improve content.
- **Openness:** Edit histories and talk pages reveal how content decisions were made.
- **Expandable:** Wikis can grow naturally as contributors add new topics.

Limitations
- **Vandalism and false information:** Open editing may allow intentional or accidental inaccuracies.
- **Inconsistent quality:** Entries may vary in accuracy, style, and completeness.
- **Organizational issues:** Without clear governance, content may become fragmented or disputed.

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