[HK_ADS(wikis)]
The following definition is taken from
Wikipedia: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-
A
wiki (
IPA:
[ˈwiË.kiË] <wee-kee> or
[ˈwɪ.kiË] <wick-ey>
[1]) is a type of
website
that allows anyone visiting the site to add, remove, or otherwise edit
all content, quickly and easily, often without the need for
registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an
effective tool for
collaborative writing.
The term
wiki is a shortened form of
wiki wiki which is from the native language of
Hawaii (
Hawaiian), where it is commonly used as an adjective to denote something "quick" or "fast"
(Hawaiian dictionary).
The term
Wiki can also refer to the
collaborative software itself (wiki engine) that facilitates the operation of such a website (
see wiki software).
In essence, a wiki is nothing more than a simplified system of creating
HTML
web pages, combined with a system which records and catalogues all
revisions, so that at any time, an entry can be reverted to a previous
state. A wiki system may also include various tools, designed to
provide users with an easy way to monitor the constantly changing state
of the wiki as well as a place to discuss and resolve the many
inevitable issues, namely, the inherent disagreement over wiki content.
Wiki content can also be misleading, as users are bound to add
incorrect information to the wiki page.
Some wikis will allow completely unrestricted access so that people
are able to contribute to the site without necessarily having to
undergo a process of 'registration', as had usually been required by
various other types of interactive websites such as
Internet forums or chat sites.
The first wiki,
WikiWikiWeb, is named after the "Wiki Wiki" line of
Chance RT-52 buses in
Honolulu International Airport,
Hawaii. It was created in
1994 and installed on the web in
1995 by
Ward Cunningham, who also created the
Portland Pattern Repository.
Wiki is sometimes interpreted as the
backronym for "What I know is", which describes the knowledge contribution, storage and exchange function.And another good definition from Ezra Goodnoe of
Internet Week:
A
wiki
is a Web site that can be edited by anybody who is granted permission.
In a business environment, that can mean a workgroup, a department, or
even the whole company. The people who access the data and documents in
a wiki are also the authors of the wiki, making it ideal for
information sharing.
While wikis aren't the best tool for discussions or real-time
collaboration, they excel as resources for archiving documents and
tracking workflow. In addition to Web pages, wikis can link to
spreadsheets, Word documents, PowerPoint slides, PDFs – anything that
can be displayed in a browser. They can also embed standard
communications media such as e-mail and IM. In other words, they let
users gather all the information and correspondence pertinent to a
project within one central location.
What's more, most wikis are either open source or based on open-source
code. Open-source wikis are absolutely free for companies who implement
them, and even licensed versions – which include implementation and
support – are cheap compared to standard project- or content-management
software. (See Wikis In The Business World for a more complete introduction to wikis and whether they're right for your company.)