Week 7 thing 16

Wikis. I've used them, I've helped design one for a class earlier this year, I like them. That being said...

Two things I think I'll touch on for this thing just because I think both are important features of wikis that the articles didn't touch on that I saw. First a wiki is only as successful as the number of users who frequent it and actively add things to it. Wikis are the next generation message board in a way. If you go to one looking for information and no one has posted it your out of luck. So a wiki needs a large number of active users who are posting new things and creating links between pages so others can find the new pages and add content to them. If there aren't enough users then there isn't enough information being added then people won't use them so and if they don't use them then they don't add their knowledge to the wiki. It's a viscous cycle that can be common in online environments.

Second wikis aren't perfect. They are a great starting point but because the information is all user submitted then there can be gaps or mistakes. They can't be the only solution to a search. But a well developed wiki page is a completed search with referencing articles at your fingertips without having to do any real work. And really who wants to do a search if the work has already been done for you.