WhatILoveAboutWikis
see also WhatIHateAboutWikisLadle on your adoration. Count the ways.
I love wikis because of their ability to facilitate work between any number of people over any distance. It's a chance for people to think, formulate, and dream up ideas together, or just toss out all their collective knowledge on a subject. I'm a big fan of dreaming and ideas myself. Their elegant simplicity is also a draw for me. I like things that are simple to operate and work well, things with a function greater than their means. Wikis are simple programs that accomplish what far more complicated programs never could. Simple elegance.
ZachOlson
Lets say there's a group of people. These people have a common interest in one thing. The "thing" isn't really what's important, it could be anything from software development, developing a game walkthrough, or any other thing that a group of people would collaborate on over the internet, or at least an intranet. That is important is how this group is able to accomplish what they've set out to do. Lets say, for instance, that this group is writing a piece of software. The software is open source, and they need a place for their community to post code and/or swap ideas around. Enter the wiki.
Before the wiki, lots of software developers used to use methods such as email, or sometimes even forums or bulletin boards to post and swap ideas. What they're trying to achieve doesn't really fit into the mold of what those pieces of technology are for. The wiki allows a place that's easy to access, can be tailored and organized in an effective way, and is often "quick and dirty," just how developers like things to be.
I think the wiki is a great tool for more focused and realistic projects, like software development, or whenever a group of people need some soft of shared space. I think the wiki is not very appropriate for larger, more vague uses, which can lead to lots of issues, inconsistencies, and flat-out inaccuracies. But let's be optimistic, the intentions of wikis are good, and I think they do more good (currently) than harm.
JesseStubbins
One reason that I'm drawn to wikis is their ability to facilitate the way I create. When dreaming up a world, a story, a game, I tend to branch deeply into the details, the specifics. I'm not content to make a world of generalizations; a great concept will not float on a lake of assumptions. If I were writing fantasy, dragons wouldn't breathe fire just because--there'd be a naturalistic explanation. If I'd written the Harry Potter books, there'd have been an eighth book discussing the mechanics of magic in depth. I must work out the tiniest details in my mind in order to hold up the grand idea, the plot. What better place to store, sort and refine these ideas than on a wiki?
Everyone knows about the Lord of the Rings trilogy. If I were writing these books today, all of the information in the Silmarillion, the long and complex lore, lineage and geography upon which the trilogy is based, would be on a dedicated wiki.
Besides being a place to store and catalog the working bits and history of a world, wikis also lend to collaborative creation. I would love comments and questions on the mechanics of a world. Inconsistencies and impracticalities could be pointed out and corrected. Many people in many disciplines could lend their particular knowledge to the wiki, fleshing out generalizations and exploring unconsidered details. I would not mind sharing my creation, even turning over creative control, to a community. Star Wars wasn't created by one person, it's reach and success can be attributed to many people contributing to the universe over the years, asking questions and coming up with answers.
For these reasons, I am grateful for and really inspired by the existence of wikis.
- ZacharyBurke
Once I know what my role is in a collaborative setting, I embrace it. When others share their ideas and experiences, I can modify or find contentment in my own practices, and I equally enjoy offering my own experiences and ideas to help others do the same. Wikis offer the space and tools to promote that exchange.
It is inspiring to see ideas branch off to new pages, watch them interconnect, and find consensus or differing viewpoints via linking. Wikis invite us to see the interconnectedness and the potentiality of ideas. For those who would rather explore connections and possibilities rather than the absolute and the linear, wikis invite us to not only explore, but to create those connections.
The structure of the wiki is defined by the writer's purpose. I like that it can be created for as something as small as a personal e-notebook, a giant "get things done" sort of list or as big as a corporation's product creation or documentation.
JennBeyer
Wikis are an excellent way of collaborating on a group project. I like the idea of having a central place for a project to come together. Wikis eliminate the need for dozens of emails with attachments being sent back and forth from various participants.
Wikis create an interactive environment. Everyone particpating can put in their piece to create an overall better result.
I love the fact that wikis are easy to access (through any web browser) and easy to edit. They don't require extensive programming knowledge.
BethJensen
What I love about Wikis is that fact that everyone can contribute to one project. You can post something up on a wiki, and you can get instant feedback from readers. They can help you edit your document, they can add in information that you did not think to add, and you basically get to know what others think about what you have posted.
Wikis are also very easy to use once you have been introduced to them. They are so easy to go in and edit, and you are also able to easily see how someone has done something on their page that you like. They are also changing, and it is very easy to go in and add something or take something out.
KristaDorow
I think wiki's are really interesting. after reading about how wikis work, i was awed by the way things can go around here. I like the way many people can share their opinions and therefore, more ideas can be collaborated. Though at times, if there are people who irresponsible, they will definitely find a way to ruin your wiki, but im sure there are way too little irresponsible culprits out there ;-) I love the wiki because its also so easy to add things. it's not as complicated as the blogs!! But maybe because i'm just an illiterate when it comes to blogs.
NishaAmirtharatnam
I really like wikis because they are easy to edit and use. I like how the wiki is set up like a blank piece of paper just waiting to be filled with words. Wiki's can be a good way to vent out emotions. I like how fast they change and how fast the editing system is for it. I like how if somebody goes in and messes around with your wiki that you can go back and edit like it never happened. I like the fact that everybody can contribute to a wiki and its a good way to formulate ideas and bounce ideas off of one another to get different opinions about topics.
MitchNoble
I like wikis because it makes communicating between mulitple groups easy and productive. Where when you use e-mail information gets lost or there is a lot of miscommunication. I also like the way that all groups can add or subtract input. They are quick at editing the content between users.
HeatherSmith
I love wikis because they are the easiest online tool for collaboration. When working with groups on projects it is desirable for everyone to see what everyone else is doing, and for everyone to be able to contribute to one page, which is what a wiki allows people to do. It is easy to learn how to use a wiki, which means anyone can use one with out a lot of instruction. Pratically anyone can edit a wiki, unless of course a person does not want their work edited. There are available security features for those who want privacy.
KatyGehrke
What I love about this wiki is that it makes collaboration on projects very easy and it is really easy to edit. There are many things on this Wiki that I find to be very easy to use and also easy to post on. I like the fact that it is very simple as in how it looks and also how it works. I would defiantly try be happy to use the wiki in classes other than this one because I like all the options and interlinking.
ErikLundin
What I like about wikis is the usability of them and how that correlates to posting assisnments and stuff. It is so much easier to just hop on here and post assignments than going through the hassle of transferring files from computer to computer to print things off. Also, wikis are a great way to communicate with a number of people. Your stuff is out there and if anyone wants to comment they can with no hassles. It is a great medium of communication.
JustinGagola
Wikis, at least through our class websites, have been much easier to learn than I ever could have imagined. I enjoy the simplicity of our Wikis, however, they could probably be as developed and complicated as we wished, given the ability per the server. I like that I could make a Wiki for my family, as I am intending to do, and given the fact that most of my immediate family (Ma/Pa/Bros/Sis) are cruisin' right along with me on this information superhighway (what?! do they use that word anymore?), they should/could be able to update the Wiki on their own so that our Family has a place of reference, to keep up on each other, 'see' when we can't really see each other, if you will.
MarthaPeters
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