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:** All edits are stored with timestamps and the author’s name or IP.
- **Interlinking:** It’s easy to create links between pages, forming an interconnected knowledge base.
- **Lightweight markup:** Pages are typically formatted with lightweight markup like WikiText or Markdown.
- **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
- Crowd-sourced knowledge resources (e.g., Wikipedia)
- Internal documentation and company knowledge bases
- Collaborative writing and shared note-taking
- School and instructional projects
Benefits
- **Fast collaboration:** Multiple people can add and refine content quickly.
- **Openness:** Edit histories and talk pages reveal how content decisions were made.
- **Expandable:** They scale organically as users add more pages and 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:** Without clear governance, content may become fragmented or disputed.
Example
- **Wikipedia** — the largest example, maintained by the Wikimedia Foundation and contributed to by volunteers worldwide.
