 | This is a humorousessay. It containshumorous advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors and isn't meant to be taken seriously. This is not an encyclopedia article or one ofWikipedia's policies or guidelines and may not representcommunity consensus. |
 | This page in a nutshell: The word "wiki" is acommon noun which does not refer to any specific website. Do not use "Wiki" as if implying that Wikipedia is the only wiki in existence. |
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"Wiki" is usuallynot aproper name and, when it is, it doesnot refer to Wikipedia. Please understand that "wiki" is ageneric term that describes a type ofwebsite orsoftware.
The term "wiki" refers to a type of site patterned afterC2 Wiki, the original site to use the term "wiki" (an abbreviation ofWikiWikiWeb). There are in factmany such wikis in existence, of which Wikipedia is only one. Therefore, referring to any one of them (except perhaps the original C2 Wiki) using thecapitalized "Wiki" is incorrect at best, and to a somewhat experienced Internet user, can be painful to hear. Like, if Wiki users call it Wiki, then they will be blocked from Wiki! But are those wiki users from Fandom or C2 Wiki or which wiki? TELL US!
Although your intentions may be obvious, such a blatant misuse of language is nevertheless painful, and to editors of other wikis, utterly confusing.
To illustrate, imagine seeing someone say this:
| "Tree's leaves are turning pretty colors. I think Tree looks nice today." |
See how odd that sounds? That's what a lot of Wikipedia users feel when people use "Wiki" to refer to "Wikipedia".
Nowcompare with:
| "The tree's leaves are turning pretty colors. I think the tree looks nice today." |
See how natural this sounds?
For the health and well-being of the community, when referring tothis encyclopedia, either type out the entire word, "Wikipedia", or, when unambiguous (when it's clear that e.g.WordPress is not being referenced), use the abbreviation "WP". (This excludes our current usage of "this encyclopedia", of course.)
The word "wiki" can be used in a number of proper and inoffensive ways. Below we compare and contrast the do's and do-not-do's of "wiki" usage, complete with excessively complex grammatical explanations.
"Wikipedia is my favorite website." – User 1
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Notice that in User 2's comment, the word "wiki" is in its plural form, "wikis", having a plural "s" on its end. Since the plural form of "wiki" always acknowledges its generic nature, this usage is
Approved.
"Wikipedia pages are loading slowly for me in the last couple hours. Has anyone else noticed this?" – User 1
|
In this example, while the word "wiki" is now in its singular form, and "wiki" does seem to be referringonly to Wikipedia, thearticle "the" now appears before it. This implies reference merely toone out of a possiblemany different wikis. Since User 2's usage is still as a generic noun that acknowledges the nature of the object it describes, rather than being a proper name for a singular entity, this usage isApproved. (Similarly withdemonstratives: "This wiki is better than that one.")
| "Wiki is where I go to research my brain medicines." – User 1 |
Notice that in this example, User 1 has used "wiki" as aproper name.
Per usage predating the rise of Wikipedia, "Wiki" could be used as a proper noun ...forC2 Wiki, the first site to identify as a "wiki", which was then a new coinage (an abbreviation ofWikiWikiWeb). Use of Wiki, as a proper noun,to refer to Wikipedia rather than to C2is therefore a misuse.
Whilst "wiki" is now usually used as a generic term rather than a specific C2 reference, since there aremany possible wikis that User 1 could be referring to, and since "wiki" in the current sense is ageneric description formany different websites and software packages, this usage iswrong,blasphemous,offensive, and
Highly discouraged. User 1 is also admonished forseeking to use Wikipedia as a source of medical advice.
"How manyadmins does it take to change a light bulb?" – User 1
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Somecolloquial terms or phrases may incorporate "wiki", but are nevertheless unique terms in and of themselves, not requiring adjustment to accommodate the specific institution being referenced. In this example, "wiki" should not be considered alone, but rather as part of the term "off-wiki". "Off-wiki" is generally used as a stand-in for "outside ofthe current wiki", which as you can see, implies the article "the". Therefore, as in example #2 above, this usage isApproved.
You can discourage others from abbreviatingWikipedia asWiki using this template and userbox:
When encountering improper "wiki" usage in the wild (on talk pages), the following code can be used to place a graphical warning:
{{daw}}
or
{{Don't abbreviate Wikipedia as Wiki}}
Produces the graphic seen to the right, complete with a link to this essay.
Show your support — place{{User notwiki}} on your userpage.
It'll look like this:
 | This user feelsphysical pain when hearing othersrefer to Wikipedia as "Wiki". |