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:** 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:** Formatting is usually handled by lightweight markup languages (e.g., WikiText or Markdown). - **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 knowledge bases such as Wikipedia - Internal documentation and company knowledge bases - Collaborative writing and shared note-taking - Classroom and educational 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 can grow naturally as contributors add new topics. Drawbacks - **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** — the largest example, maintained by the Wikimedia Foundation and contributed to by volunteers worldwide.</p>