Wiki: Pedia

<p>Wikis are websites built for collaborative authoring, allowing numerous contributors to add, edit, and structure content online. 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:** Creating links among pages is straightforward, which helps interconnect content. - **Lightweight markup:** Simple markup languages (such as WikiText or Markdown) are used to format pages. - **Permission settings:** Some wikis are open to anyone; others limit edits to registered users or specific groups. - **Discussion pages:** Talk or discussion pages let contributors debate edits and organization. Frequent uses - Crowd-sourced knowledge resources (e.g., Wikipedia) - Internal documentation and company knowledge bases - Group writing and collaborative note-taking - School and instructional projects Benefits - **Fast collaboration:** Many people can collaborate and iterate quickly on content. - **Openness:** Visibility into edits and discussions shows how decisions were reached. - **Expandable:** They scale organically as users add more pages and topics. Drawbacks - **Vandalism and false information:** Public editing can lead to vandalism or incorrect information. - **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>