Wiki: Pedia

Wikis are websites built for collaborative authoring, allowing numerous contributors to add, edit, and structure content online.

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.

Main features
- **Collaborative editing:** Several contributors can edit pages, sometimes at the same time.
- **Edit history:** Each change is logged with a time and the editor’s name or IP.
- **Interlinking:** Links between pages are simple to create, helping build connected 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:** Dedicated discussion pages enable contributors to coordinate and discuss content.

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

Pros
- **Fast collaboration:** Multiple people can add and refine content quickly.
- **Openness:** Visibility into edits and discussions shows how decisions were reached.
- **Expandable:** Wikis can grow naturally as contributors add new 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 largest example, maintained by the Wikimedia Foundation and contributed to by volunteers worldwide.