DOCID: 4046925
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Web pages that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows others (often completely unrestricted) to edit the content. The term wiki also refers to the collaborative software (wiki engine) used to create such a website (see wiki software). In essence, the wiki is a vast simplification of the process of creating HTML pages, and thus is a very effective way to exchange information through collaborative effort. Wiki is sometimes interpreted as the acronym for 'what I know, is', which describes the knowledge contribution, storage and exchange up to some point."[1] The most obvious potential problem with an encyclopedia that "anyone can edit" is quality control, and in fact, one of the Wikipedia's co-founders admitted serious problems with the quality and accuracy of some (perhaps a lot) of the Wikipedia content.[2] While there is a tremendous amount of good information in Wikipedia, it should not be relied upon as a sole source. Neither should it be ignored as this example of a "disambiguation" page on "java" shows:
 | An image should appear at this position in the text. To use the entire page scan as a placeholder, edit this page and replace "{{missing image}}" with "{{raw image|Untangling the Web.pdf/49}}". Otherwise, if you are able to provide the image then please do so. For guidance, see Wikisource:Image guidelines and Help:Adding images. |  |
Wikipedia also has the advantage of offering a free encyclopedia in a number of languages besides English, including French, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, German, and Japanese.
- ↑ "Wiki," Wikipedia, Wikipedia, 2005. Answers.com <http://www.answers.com/topic/wiki> (14 November 2006).
- ↑ Andrew Orlowski, "Wikipedia Founder Admits to Serious Quality Problems," The Register, 18 October 2005, <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/1O/18/wikipedia_quality_problem/> (14 November 2006).
