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:** Some wikis are open to anyone; others limit edits to registered users or specific groups. - **Discussion pages:** Separate talk pages allow contributors to discuss edits and structure. Typical uses - Crowd-sourced knowledge resources (e.g., Wikipedia) - Project documentation and internal company knowledge repositories - Group writing and collaborative note-taking - Classroom and educational projects Pros - **Fast collaboration:** Many people can collaborate and iterate quickly on content. - **Openness:** Visibility into edits and discussions shows how decisions were reached. - **Expandable:** They scale organically as users add more pages and topics. Limitations - **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:** Without clear governance, content may become fragmented or disputed. Illustration - **Wikipedia** — a well-known wiki operated by the Wikimedia Foundation and written by volunteers around the globe.</p>