Wiki: Pedia

<p>Wikis are websites built for collaborative authoring, allowing numerous contributors to add, edit, and structure content online. Wikis prioritize ease of use and openness: pages can be added or changed without technical expertise, and most track every edit so changes can be reviewed or undone. Key features - **Collaborative editing:** Multiple people can edit the same pages, occasionally concurrently. - **Edit history:** Each change is logged with a time and the editor’s name or IP. - **Interlinking:** Creating links among pages is straightforward, which helps interconnect content. - **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. Frequent uses - Community-driven knowledge bases (for example, Wikipedia) - Project documentation and internal company knowledge repositories - Collaborative writing and shared note-taking - School and instructional projects Benefits - **Fast collaboration:** Contributors can rapidly create and improve content. - **Openness:** Visibility into edits and discussions shows how decisions were reached. - **Expandable:** Wikis expand easily as contributors add and organize content. 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:** Poor coordination or governance can cause content fragmentation and disputes. Notable example - **Wikipedia** — the best-known wiki, run by the Wikimedia Foundation and built by volunteer contributors worldwide.</p>