Wiki: Pedia

<p>Wikis are websites built for collaborative authoring, allowing numerous contributors to add, edit, and structure content online. They emphasize simplicity and openness — pages can be created or modified without special technical skills, and most maintain an edit history so revisions can be reviewed or reverted. Key features - **Collaborative editing:** Multiple people can edit the same pages, occasionally concurrently. - **Edit history:** All edits are stored with timestamps and the author’s name or IP. - **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:** Separate talk pages allow contributors to discuss edits and structure. Common uses - Community knowledge bases such as Wikipedia - Internal documentation and company knowledge bases - Cooperative writing and shared notes - Educational and classroom projects Benefits - **Fast collaboration:** Contributors can rapidly create and improve content. - **Openness:** Edit histories and talk pages reveal how content decisions were made. - **Expandable:** They scale organically as users add more pages and topics. 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. Example - **Wikipedia** — the best-known wiki, run by the Wikimedia Foundation and built by volunteer contributors worldwide.</p>