Wiki facts for kids

A wiki is a special kind of website that lets many people work together to create and change its pages. The word "wiki" is short for WikiWikiWeb. It comes from the Hawaiian word wikiwiki, which means "fast" or "speed". Think of it as a super-fast way to share information!

Some famous wikis you might know are Wikipedia, which is a huge online encyclopedia, and Wiktionary, which is like a dictionary. There are also wikis for books, like Wikibook.

On most wikis, anyone can help write or edit the pages. This means lots of people can add new information, fix mistakes, and make the pages better. It's like a big team project where everyone helps build the website! Some very important pages might only be changed by certain users to keep them safe.

Wikis are great for collecting information from all over the world. People can discuss ideas on special "talk pages" to make sure the information is correct and clear. This helps everyone understand things better and share their thoughts.

How Wikis Work

Wikis are designed for teamwork. When someone adds or changes something, other users can see these changes. If a mistake is made, another person can quickly correct it. This way, the pages keep getting better and more accurate over time.

Who Started Wikis?

The very first wiki was created by Ward Cunningham in March 1995. Many people loved his idea and started their own similar websites. Today, MediaWiki is the most popular software used to run wikis, including Wikipedia.

Keeping Wikis Safe

Because almost anyone can edit a wiki, sometimes people might try to add things that are not helpful or are even wrong. This is called vandalism.

Stopping Vandalism

Wiki communities have ways to deal with vandalism. For example, some important pages can be "protected" so that only certain users can edit them. Also, special users called "administrators" can block people who repeatedly vandalize pages. By regularly checking changes, wikis can stay accurate and helpful for everyone.

Images for kids

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  Ward Cunningham, the person who invented the wiki.

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  The Wiki Wiki Shuttle at Honolulu International Airport.

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  This shows how you can compare different versions of a page to see what changed.

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  The main page of the English Wikipedia.

See also

In Spanish: Wiki para niños