Why should I use a wiki?

A wiki is a website that may be easily and quickly developed by a community using only the Web browser on their computer. Wikis are easy to use by groups with common interests or communities of practice. Here are some reasons why you may want to use a wiki:

• Wikis provide a virtual presence
  Wikis allow communities to quickly and to easily create develop a Web presence, allowing community members to easily access and update content from virtually anywhere and at anytime.

• Wikis support a variety of interactions within a community
  Wikis support site creators, administrators, authors, and readers; online discussions; and the collaborative development and management of web-based content.

• Participating on a wiki is very easy
  It's usually very simple to post comments about the content and even edit the content or add new pages to a website created using wiki technology. Wikis are great solutions for individuals and groups with little or no technical skills.
  

• Valuable content can be created using a wiki
  Content which previously has not been available in a central location to the community members or other interested individuals can be included on a wiki. For example, some documents may be available in shared databases; however, those database or groupware systems are often very expensive and may not contain the most recent version. Also, many documents are sitting on the hard disks of the community members and are frequently sent across the network through e-mail systems. Again, who has the most recent version and what changes have been integrated since you last saw the document? Wikis solve most of these content management problems.

• Connections to a broader subject field
  You can easily include links (often called hyperlinks) to other websites within your subject field or to sites in related fields using most wiki applications

• Wikis support personal and community identities and interactions
  Most wikis allow the community members to create a profile and the communities supporting the wiki are generally clearly defined on most wikis. Users may generally add to the wiki content and make changes to existing content. Messaging is often supported among members on wikis.

• Wikis support democratic participation
  Wiki content changes do not require review and voting by community members. However, wikis provide an opportunity for anyone to contribute to the content. No longer is content developed and managed by a single person when using a wiki -- no more delay between submitting feedback or comments and the changes to the document content. Generally anyone can edit and create content on a wiki, but often community membership is required to circumvent spam and vandalism. There's generally not a lot of focus on the individual 'authors' of the content -- developing the content is a group effort. However, many wikis provide a feature that allows participants to notate their updates (e.g., to automatically add the user name and time of update), which is particularly helpful in discussion threads, brainstorming sessions, and group voting, where implemented.

• Wikis enable evolution over time
  Content on a wiki can be refined over time by the communitiy participants, evolving based on community contributions and online discussions. Wiki content is generally always under construction. It's generally easy to view the prior versions of a wiki page, reviewing the changes previously made and reverting content as needed.

Notes - The Fine Print
Some functions may be limited on wikis by the wiki organizer in order to prevent spam and vandalism