A wiki is a website designed for collaborative editing, letting many people create, update, and organize content directly in a web browser.
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.
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:** Talk or discussion pages let contributors debate edits and organization.
Typical uses
- Community-driven knowledge bases (for example, Wikipedia)
- Project docs and corporate knowledge repositories
- Cooperative writing and shared notes
- School and instructional projects
Pros
- **Fast collaboration:** Many people can collaborate and iterate quickly on content.
- **Openness:** Transparency through revision histories and discussions.
- **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:** Content quality may vary widely between pages.
- **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.
