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.
Key features
- **Collaborative editing:** Several contributors can edit pages, sometimes at the same time.
- **Edit history:** Every modification is recorded with a timestamp and the editor’s identity or IP address.
- **Interlinking:** It’s easy to create links between pages, forming an interconnected knowledge base.
- **Lightweight markup:** Formatting is usually handled by lightweight markup languages (e.g., WikiText or Markdown).
- **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.
Common uses
- Community knowledge bases such as Wikipedia
- Project docs and corporate knowledge repositories
- Group writing and collaborative note-taking
- Classroom and educational projects
Benefits
- **Fast collaboration:** Contributors can rapidly create and improve 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:** Open editing may allow intentional or accidental inaccuracies.
- **Inconsistent quality:** Content quality may vary widely between pages.
- **Organizational issues:** Without clear governance, content may become fragmented or disputed.
Illustration
- **Wikipedia** — the best-known wiki, run by the Wikimedia Foundation and built by volunteer contributors worldwide.
