The Origin of Wikis
Let's start with how wikis came to be. The first wiki was created by an American software developer named Ward Cunningham, who made a program known as the "Portland Pattern Respority" in his "WikiWikiWeb" system. This system would forever revolutionize the digital space by giving people a new way of creating content. A wiki is a Content Management System that lets people create and edit web pages in a browser, and does not require much knowledge beforehand to create. According to WESEEK, a group of writers who work for the website, "Medium":
"Wiki is a type of Content Management System (CMS) that allows users to easily create and edit web pages in a web browser. Wiki is known as the pioneer among CMS. You can easily write and it does not require knowledge of HTML or programming to create web pages."
The word "wiki" is derived from the Hawaiian term for "quick", with Ward being inspired by a Honolulu bus known as the "Wiki Wiki Shuttle." This term was chosen to refer to how Ward's system was the simplest one that could work. However, the term has also become an acronym that stands for "what I know is" and "world internet knowledge index." All of this has contributed to the fascinating history of these sites.
Putting Power in the User's Hands
As previously mentioned, wiki's are a form of CMS that can be written and altered by users. However, not everyone knows exactly what this means. In short, wikis, unlike other websites that can only be written and edited by the people directly related to it, can be changed by anyone that visits them. This includes YOU, the person reading this. As long as you have basic digital writing skills, you can add your own edits and information to a wiki right now! As stated by MediaWiki, which is itself a wiki site:
"A wiki is a type of website whose contents can be edited from the web browser, and which keeps a version history for each editable page. Wikis are often, but not always, editable by any visitor to the site."
As that statement gave away, though, wikis aren't always editable by everyone. Some restrict their features to users who have permission to do so. Outside of those exceptions, most wikis can be changed and altered by the public as many times as they want, putting power in the user's hands. Not all wikis are created equal, however, and there are different types of wikis that each have their own distinct traits.