Editing Wiki (section)

{{Short description|Type of website edited collaboratively}}
{{Pp-semi-indef}}
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{{about|the concept|its use as a nickname|Wikipedia|other uses}}
{{distinguish|Wiiki|WIKY (disambiguation){{!}}WIKY}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2019}}
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[[File:Wikitext-wiki markup-wikipedia.png|upright=1.5|thumb|Editing display showing [[MediaWiki markup language]]|alt=refer to caption]]

A '''wiki''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-wiki.ogg|ˈ|w|ɪ|k|i}} {{respell|WICK|ee}}) is a form of [[hypertext]] publication on the [[internet]] which is [[Collaborative editing|collaboratively edited]] and managed by its audience directly through a [[web browser]]. A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or limited to use within an organization for maintaining its internal [[knowledge base]]. Its name derives from the first user-editable website called "[[WikiWikiWeb]]", with "wiki" being a [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] word meaning "quick".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wiki {{!}} Definition & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/wiki |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:MediaWiki homepage (oct 2024).png|thumb|right|A photo of the [[MediaWiki]] homepage, a wiki software]]
Wikis are powered by [[wiki software]], also known as wiki engines. Being a form of [[content management system]], these differ from other [[web application|web-based]] systems such as [[blog software]] or [[static site generator]]s in that the content is created without any defined owner or leader. Wikis have little inherent structure, allowing one to emerge according to the needs of the users.<ref name="Easy Wiki Hosting "/> Wiki engines usually allow content to be written using a [[lightweight markup language]] and sometimes edited with the help of a [[Online rich-text editor|rich-text editor]].<ref name="Britannica">{{citation|title=wiki|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|volume=1|publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]]|year=2007|location=London|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1192819/wiki|access-date=April 10, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424074513/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1192819/wiki|archive-date=April 24, 2008}}</ref> There are dozens of different wiki engines in use, both standalone and part of other software, such as [[bug tracking system]]s. Some wiki engines are [[free and open-source]], whereas others are [[proprietary software|proprietary]]. Some permit control over different functions (levels of access); for example, editing rights may permit changing, adding, or removing material. Others may permit access without enforcing access control. Further rules may be imposed to organize content. In addition to hosting user-authored content, wikis allow those users to interact, hold discussions, and collaborate.<ref name="Legal">{{citation|title=Legal Issues for Wikis: The Challenge of User-generated and Peer-produced Knowledge, Content and Culture|last1=Black|first1=Peter|last2=Delaney|first2=Hayden|last3=Fitzgerald|first3=Brian|volume=14|publisher=eLaw J.|year=2007|url=https://elaw.murdoch.edu.au/archives/issues/2007/1/eLaw_legal%20issues%20for%20wikis.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121222125337/https://elaw.murdoch.edu.au/archives/issues/2007/1/eLaw_legal%20issues%20for%20wikis.pdf|archive-date=December 22, 2012}}</ref>

There are hundreds of thousands of [[List of wikis|wikis in use]], both public and private, including wikis functioning as [[knowledge management]] resources, [[notetaking software|note-taking]] tools, [[Web community|community websites]], and [[intranet]]s. [[Ward Cunningham]], the developer of the first wiki software, [[WikiWikiWeb]], originally described wiki as "the simplest online database that could possibly work".<ref>{{cite web |last=Cunningham |first=Ward |author-link=Ward Cunningham |date=June 27, 2002 |title=What is a Wiki |url=https://www.wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080416212802/https://www.wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki |archive-date=April 16, 2008 |access-date=April 10, 2008 |publisher=WikiWikiWeb}}</ref> "[[wikt:wiki#Hawaiian|Wiki]]" (pronounced {{IPA|haw|wiki|}}{{refn|group=note|The realization of the Hawaiian {{IPA|/w/|lang=haw}} [[phoneme]] varies between {{IPA|[w]|lang=haw}} and {{IPA|[v]|lang=haw}}, and the realization of the {{IPA|/k/|lang=haw}} phoneme varies between {{IPA|[k]|lang=haw}} and {{IPA|[t]|lang=haw}}, among other realizations. Thus, the pronunciation of the Hawaiian word ''wiki'' varies between {{IPA|['wiki]|lang=haw}}, {{IPA|['witi]|lang=haw}}, {{IPA|['viki]|lang=haw}}, and {{IPA|['viti]|lang=haw}}. See [[Hawaiian phonology]] for more details.}}) is a [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] word meaning "quick".<ref>{{cite web |title=Hawaiian Words; Hawaiian to English |url=https://www.mauimapp.com/moolelo/hwnwdshw.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914154748/https://www.mauimapp.com/moolelo/hwnwdshw.htm |archive-date=September 14, 2008 |access-date=September 19, 2008 |publisher=mauimapp.com}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Hasan |first=Heather |title=Wikipedia, 3.5 million articles and counting |url=https://archive.org/details/wikipedia35milli0000hasa/page/11 |page=[https://archive.org/details/wikipedia35milli0000hasa/page/11 11] |year=2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026122531/https://archive.org/details/wikipedia35milli0000hasa/page/11 |publisher=New York : Rosen Central |isbn=9781448855575 |access-date=August 6, 2019 |archive-date=October 26, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Andrews |first=Lorrin |title=A dictionary of the Hawaiian language to which is appended an English-Hawaiian vocabulary and a chronological table of remarkable events |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofhawa00andrrich/ |page=514 |year=1865 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815064248/https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofhawa00andrrich/ |publisher=Henry M. Whitney |access-date=June 1, 2014 |archive-date=August 15, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[online encyclopedia]] project [[Wikipedia]] is the most popular wiki-based website, as well being [[List of most visited websites|one of the internet's most popular websites]], having been ranked consistently as such since at least 2007.<ref name="Alexa Top Sites">{{cite web|url=https://www.alexa.com/topsites|title=Alexa Top Sites|access-date=December 1, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150302173920/https://www.alexa.com/topsites|archive-date=March 2, 2015}}</ref> Wikipedia is not a single wiki but rather a collection of hundreds of wikis, with each one pertaining to a specific language, making it the largest reference work of all time.<ref>[https://archive.today/20210107163155/https://www.economist.com/international/2021/01/09/wikipedia-is-20-and-its-reputation-has-never-been-higher]</ref> The [[English-language Wikipedia]] has the largest collection of articles, standing at {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} as of {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wikipedia:Size of Wikipedia|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Size_of_Wikipedia |access-date=January 14, 2024|publisher=[[Wikimedia Foundation]]|website=[[Wikipedia]]}}</ref>