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:** 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:** 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:** Access controls vary — from fully open editing to permissions for certain users or groups. - **Discussion pages:** Talk or discussion pages let contributors debate edits and organization. Typical uses - Community-driven knowledge bases (for example, Wikipedia) - Internal documentation and company knowledge bases - Collaborative writing and shared note-taking - School and instructional projects Advantages - **Fast collaboration:** Multiple people can add and refine content quickly. - **Openness:** Visibility into edits and discussions shows how decisions were reached. - **Expandable:** Wikis expand easily as contributors add and organize content. Cons - **Vandalism and false information:** Open editing may allow intentional or accidental inaccuracies. - **Inconsistent quality:** Articles can differ greatly in depth, tone, and reliability. - **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.</p>