This is a humorous essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors and is made to be humorous. This page is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. This essay isn't meant to be taken seriously. |
This page in a nutshell: The word "wiki" is a common noun which does not refer to any specific website. Do not use "Wiki" as if implying that Wikipedia is the only wiki in existence. |
"Wiki" is usually not a proper name and, when it is, it does not refer to Wikipedia. Please understand that "wiki" is a generic term that describes a type of website or software.
The term "wiki" refers to a type of site patterned after C2 Wiki, the original site to use the term "wiki" (an abbreviation of WikiWikiWeb). There are in fact many such wikis in existence, of which Wikipedia is only one. Therefore, referring to any one of them (except perhaps the original C2 Wiki) using the capitalized "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".
For the health and well-being of the community, when referring to this 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".