Wiki: Pedia

<p>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. Common features - **Collaborative editing:** Several contributors can edit pages, sometimes at the same time. - **Edit history:** All edits are stored with timestamps and the author’s name or IP. - **Interlinking:** It’s easy to create links between pages, forming an interconnected knowledge base. - **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:** Separate talk pages allow contributors to discuss edits and structure. Common uses - Community-driven knowledge bases (for example, Wikipedia) - Internal documentation and company knowledge bases - Collaborative writing and shared note-taking - Classroom and educational projects Advantages - **Fast collaboration:** Contributors can rapidly create and improve content. - **Openness:** Edit histories and talk pages reveal how content decisions were made. - **Expandable:** They scale organically as users add more pages and 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:** Lack of structure or rules can lead to disorganization and conflicts. Illustration - **Wikipedia** — the best-known wiki, run by the Wikimedia Foundation and built by volunteer contributors worldwide.</p>