Wiki

A wiki is a collaborative web application that allows users to create, edit, and organize content collectively. Pages are interlinked through hyperlinks, enabling a web of related articles.

The term comes from the Hawaiian word wiki meaning quick; the concept originated with Ward Cunningham's WikiWikiWeb, launched in 1995, as one of the first collaborative websites.

Key features include web-based editing, a revision history, and simple markup or visual editors; many wikis use a software engine such as MediaWiki, DokuWiki, or TWiki. Access control and moderation vary by site.

Uses include encyclopedic projects, knowledge bases, documentation, classrooms, and intranets. Wikipedia is the most widely known example, launched in 2001; other examples include enterprise wikis and wiki farms.

Content licensing is commonly open, with Creative Commons licenses or similar terms; governance often emphasizes collaborative editing, monitoring for vandalism, and policies such as neutral point of view and verifiability.