Ask The Pro: What does “wiki” mean?
Thursday, September 1st, 2005This month‘s Pro is Andy Libecki, Web Development Specialist at OnYourMark, LLC. Andy explains what a “wiki” is all about.
A Wiki is a collaborative website in which anyone has the right to add, edit or delete content. The term wiki is derived from the Hawaiian “wikiwiki,” meaning, “quick.” Wikis offer timely content because any reader or user can modify information. Content can be edited in a web browser so no special software is required!
Wikipedia.org is a wiki encyclopedia. Simply search for a subject, such as George Washington to find information on a topic. Highlighted words on the page link to related Wikipedia topics. If you wish to add, edit or delete content on a Wikipedia page, simply click the “Edit This Page” link at the top of the page. You will then be able to view and edit the page’s content.
After making changes to a wiki’s page, the new text will be immediately available on the page. To prevent spamming or other abuse of the wiki, a team of moderators reviews recent changes. The moderators are able to “roll back” to an earlier version of the page if edits are inaccurate.
Wikis are not a free-for-all. Many have strict formatting and article guidelines. This ensures that the wiki remains structured and consistent. Most wikis allow anyone to edit pages without a login or password, though some are implementing greater security due to outbreaks of vandalism. Spammers often target wikis to place irrelevant links on pages with the hope of boosting link popularity in Google.
The largest wiki network, MediaWiki (used to power Wikipedia and Wikitionary), is not implementing more security. MediaWiki is very serious about letting anyone modify page content.
Because anyone can modify information, is wiki content 100% accurate? For the most part, yes. Administrators help to curb the placement of irrelevant content on wiki pages. The wiki community is also passionate about the accuracy of wiki pages.
“Edit Wars” occur when two wiki participants keep switching a page’s content back and forth. Often the two participants have opposing views and try to sway the page’s content to his or her favor. The George W. Bush page on Wikipedia has had its fair share of edit wars!
As the concept of wiki grows, wiki sites are becoming available for specific topics. WikiTravel.org allows users to share worldwide travel information. Wikitionary is a wiki dictionary. A wiki can also be a useful corporate tool to keep documentation organized and updated.
Links Mentioned in this Article:
- www.wikipedia.org
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_washington
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush
- www.wikitravel.org
- en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Main_Page
What would you like to ask the pro? Email your questions to askthepro@OnYourMark.com!