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. Key features - **Collaborative editing:** Multiple people can edit the same pages, occasionally concurrently. - **Edit history:** Every modification is recorded with a timestamp and the editor’s identity or IP address. - **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:** Separate talk pages allow contributors to discuss edits and structure. Typical uses - Community-driven knowledge bases (for example, Wikipedia) - Project docs and corporate knowledge repositories - Collaborative writing and shared note-taking - School and instructional projects Pros - **Fast collaboration:** Contributors can rapidly create and improve content. - **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:** Public editing can lead to vandalism or incorrect information. - **Inconsistent quality:** Content quality may vary widely between pages. - **Organizational issues:** Lack of structure or rules can lead to disorganization and conflicts. Example - **Wikipedia** — a well-known wiki operated by the Wikimedia Foundation and written by volunteers around the globe.</p>