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Ward Cunningham, the developer of the first wiki software, WikiWikiWeb
The history of wikis began in 1994, when Ward Cunningham gave the name "WikiWikiWeb" to the knowledge base, which ran on his company's website at c2.com, and the wiki software that powered it.
The wiki went public in March 1995, the date used in anniversary celebrations of the wiki's origins.[1]
c2.com is thus the first true wiki, or a website with pages and links that can be easily edited via the browser, with a reliable version history for each page.
He chose "WikiWikiWeb" as the name based on his memories of the "Wiki Wiki Shuttle" at Honolulu International Airport, and because "wiki" is the Hawaiian word for "quick".[2]
Wiki software has some conceptual origins in the version control and hypertext systems used for documentation and software in the 1980s, and some actualized origins in the 1970s "Journal" feature of NLS.
Its distant ancestors include Vannevar Bush's proposed "memex" system in 1945, the collaborative hypertext database ZOG in 1972, the NoteCards system from Xerox, the Apple hypertext system HyperCard. As was typical of these earlier systems, Cunningham's motive was technical: to facilitate communication between software developers.
Many alternative wiki applications and websites appeared over the next five years. In the meantime, the first wiki, now known as "WardsWiki", evolved as features were added to the software and as the growing body of users developed a unique "wiki culture". By 2000, WardsWiki had developed a great deal of content outside its original stated purpose, which led to the spinoff of content into sister sites, most notably MeatballWiki.[3]
The website Wikipedia, a free content encyclopedia, was launched in January 2001,[4] and quickly became the most popular wiki, which it remains to this day. Its rise in popularity (it was in the top ten most popular sites in 2007[5]) played a large part in introducing wikis to the general public.[4] There now exist at least hundreds of thousands of wiki websites, and they have become increasingly prevalent in corporations and other organizations.[4]
^"Wiki History". C2.com. Archived from the original on 2002-06-21. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
^Andrews, Lorrin (1865). A dictionary of the Hawaiian language to which is appended an English-Hawaiian vocabulary and a chronological table of remarkable events(PDF). Henry M. Whitney. p. 514.
^"Meatball Wiki: AboutThisSite". meatballwiki.org. Archived from the original on 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
^ abc"Wikipedia | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Archived from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
^Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
The historyofwikis began in 1994, when Ward Cunningham gave the name "WikiWikiWeb" to the knowledge base, which ran on his company's website at c2.com...
different wiki software packages. Meta has related information at: List of largest wikisHistoryofwikis List of online encyclopedias List of multilingual...
to organize content. There are hundreds of thousands ofwikis in use, both public and private, including wikis functioning as knowledge management resources...
distributed with MediaWiki software is public domain. This was done to eliminate legal issues arising from the help pages being imported into wikis with licenses...
his mind and dubbed it "WikiWikiWeb". Historyofwikis Cunningham, Ward (February 1, 2015). "Migrating Wiki on Federated Wiki". Archived from the original...
three types of usage for wiki software: public-facing wikis with a potentially large community of readers and editors, private enterprise wikis for data...
source of open data that Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia, and anyone else, is able to use under the CC0 public domain license. Wikidata is a wiki powered...
is a list ofwiki software programs. They are grouped by use case: standard wiki programs, personal wiki programs, hosted-only wikis, wiki-based content...
Family History Research Wiki has been rolled out in other languages. As of July 2014 it is available in 11 languages. Links to the other language wikis are...
MediaWiki is an open-source wiki engine whose first version, 1.1, was released in 2003. The following table contains the MediaWiki version history, showing...
for the ontology. The wiki is still growing, and demonstrates a satisfied user base List of online encyclopedias List ofwikis Krabina, Bernhard (2015)...
to create content more rapidly. Wikis had been used elsewhere on the web to organize knowledge, and the idea of a wiki-based complement to Nupedia was...
MeatballWiki is a wiki dedicated to online communities, network culture, and hypermedia. Containing a record of experience on running wikis, it is intended...
world's largest wiki farm, made the use of Semantic MediaWiki available for all their wikis on request, thus allowing all the wikis they hosted to function...
Technology HistoryWiki. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2022. Brewer, Nathan (August 2015). "Wikis and public history – a case study of the IEEE Global...
PhpWiki is a web-based wiki software application. It began as a clone ofWikiWikiWeb and was the first wiki written in PHP. PhpWiki has been used to edit...
WikiLeaks (/ˈwɪkiliːks/) is a media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is a non-profit and is funded by donations and media partnerships...
staff.[citation needed] The MediaWiki software allows users to add, delete, and otherwise modify content. Like other wikis, quality control is achieved by...
on the site. The main page served as a directory of links to other .onion sites. The first Hidden Wiki was operated through the .onion pseudo-top-level...
members of the public to develop wiki-based content in languages across the world. The foundation does not write or curate any of the content on the wikis itself...
by the two great Islamic schools (Shia and Sunni). Wiki List of wikis Shia Islam "WikiShia Online Encyclopedia Launched". International Quran News Agency...
languages. Multilingual wikis can be configured through plugins. Users can contribute translations of the DokuWiki software and of plugins through a web...
impossible. RationalWiki tries to track all the places they are either mentioned or cited. Internet portal Journalism portal List ofwikis List of online encyclopedias...
presentation and dialogue include Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia, other wikis, open-source software, free knowledge, free content and how these projects...
Theony, Peter (February 2011). "3: The Thousand Problem-Solving Faces ofWikis". Wikis for Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-118-05066-8. OCLC 897595141...
Are Family—Literally". The Daily Beast. Woods, Dan; Thoeny, Peter (2007). Wikis For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 300. ISBN 978-1118050668. Retrieved August...
topical WikiProjects on Wikipedia is the assessment of the quality of articles that fall within that topic area. In Wikipedia and sibling projects, WikiProject...
named simply The Vault, the wiki was split into two independently-run sites: The Vault and Nukapedia, in 2011. The two wikis decided to merge in December...
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