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:** Every modification is recorded with a timestamp and the editor’s identity or IP address. - **Interlinking:** Links between pages are simple to create, helping build connected 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. Frequent uses - Community knowledge bases such as Wikipedia - Project docs and corporate knowledge repositories - Cooperative writing and shared notes - Classroom and educational projects Pros - **Fast collaboration:** Contributors can rapidly create and improve content. - **Openness:** Edit histories and talk pages reveal how content decisions were made. - **Expandable:** Wikis can grow naturally as contributors add new topics. Cons - **Vandalism and false information:** Public editing can lead to vandalism or incorrect information. - **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>