WikisNicolas Paris, Eric Ramos, Olivia Zheng, Alex Ziev,

Chelsea Weber, Kendra Garwin

Background on WikisCreation became possible with the development of

the WorldWideWeb(1991) and web browsers such as Netscape (1994)

Creator Ward Cunningham created the first wiki called WikiWikiWeb (1995)

At first created to make the exchange of ideas between programmers easier

Spawned “wiki clones” adopted by software developers

Wikis remained unknown until 2001, when Wikipedia emerged, after which the number of wikis increased exponentially

Background on WikisPopular Wikis:

Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)WikiTravelWikiHowWikiquote (Wikimedia Foundation)Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)Wikibooks (Wikimedia Foundation)ProductWikiWiki After Dark

Wiki TechnologyEasy to create

Powerful development tool

Useful for many situationsGeneral informationCollaborative projectsGroup work

Wiki Policy

Global: general principles about how Wikipedia operates.

Behavioral: standards for behavior on Wikipedia to make it a pleasant experience for everyone.

Content and style: define which topics are welcome on Wikipedia and provide quality and naming standards.

Deletion: the body of policies dealing with page deletion.

Enforcement: what actions editors can take to enforce other policies.

Legal and copyright: law-based rules about what material may be used here, and remedies for misuse.

-Most Wikis

share the same

set of rules and

Policies

-Wikipedia

enforces the

policies very

strictly

-The main Policy

Categories are

listed to the

right.

Benefits of WikisProvide easy access to basic information for

the general public

Third parties may contribute to wiki to expand the information

A business wiki can give member access to the latest proposal or updates on projects without the use of email

Criticisms The general philosophy of wikis is that it

is easy to correct mistakes, rather than difficult to make mistakes in the first place.

With the open nature of wikis, almost anyone can edit or create a page, with the possibility of displaying inaccurate information

Usually, the editing capabilities are open to any non-registered user, or it is very easy to become a registered user.

This nature also makes them easily tampered with and prone to vandalism.

Opinion on WikisGreat technological development and

beneficial to society when used appropriately

Advantages:Frequently updatedUser friendly (Wikipedia)

Appropriate Uses:Preliminary researchPersonal enrichment / enlightenment

Inappropriate Uses:Formal research

Questions?