<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:** Numerous contributors can work on pages, sometimes simultaneously.
- **Edit history:** All edits are stored with timestamps and the author’s name or IP.
- **Interlinking:** Links between pages are simple to create, helping build connected content.
- **Lightweight markup:** Formatting is usually handled by lightweight markup languages (e.g., WikiText or Markdown).
- **Permission settings:** Access controls vary — from fully open editing to permissions for certain users or groups.
- **Discussion pages:** Separate talk pages allow contributors to discuss edits and structure.
Typical uses
- Community-driven knowledge bases (for example, Wikipedia)
- Internal documentation and company knowledge bases
- Group writing and collaborative note-taking
- Classroom and educational projects
Pros
- **Fast collaboration:** Contributors can rapidly create and improve content.
- **Openness:** Visibility into edits and discussions shows how decisions were reached.
- **Expandable:** They scale organically as users add more pages and topics.
Cons
- **Vandalism and false information:** Open contribution can result in deliberate or accidental misinformation.
- **Inconsistent quality:** Articles can differ greatly in depth, tone, and reliability.
- **Organizational issues:** Without clear governance, content may become fragmented or disputed.
Example
- **Wikipedia** — a well-known wiki operated by the Wikimedia Foundation and written by volunteers around the globe.</p>