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. Common features - **Collaborative editing:** Numerous contributors can work on pages, sometimes simultaneously. - **Edit history:** Each change is logged with a time and the editor’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 knowledge bases such as Wikipedia - Project docs and corporate knowledge repositories - Cooperative writing and shared notes - School and instructional projects Advantages - **Fast collaboration:** Contributors can rapidly create and improve content. - **Openness:** Transparency through revision histories and discussions. - **Expandable:** Wikis expand easily as contributors add and organize content. 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:** Poor coordination or governance can cause content fragmentation and disputes. Illustration - **Wikipedia** — the best-known wiki, run by the Wikimedia Foundation and built by volunteer contributors worldwide.</p>