Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite

Possible Duplicate:
Should I use “in” or “on”?

What is the difference between these two phrases? Which is more common?

find something in the wiki

find something on the wiki

share|improve this question
3  
Honestly, I hear both as equally acceptable. – sq33G Dec 22 '11 at 12:21

marked as duplicate by Matt Эллен, jwpat7, aedia λ, Mitch, Jasper Loy Dec 22 '11 at 19:04

This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.

2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

I lean towards in the wiki, but I think that is simply because the usage is more common and has become idiomatic. Whether we look "in" or "on" a reference derives from our actions towards its physical incarnation, thus

  • in the manual
  • in the dictionary
  • in the catalog
  • in the directory

but

  • on the agenda
  • on the bulletin board
  • on the list

However, when referring to a specific wiki, I would use on. A wiki is a type of website, and websites are almost invariably "on":

  • look it up in the wiki
  • look it up on Wikipedia
  • look it up in Lexis
  • look it up on Lexis.com
  • look it up on the intranet
  • featured on Yelp
  • find us on Facebook
share|improve this answer
I agree the more "the wiki" is associated with a specific website (such as Wikipedia), the more likely it is we will use "on" rather than "in". Overall, "in" seems to always be more common, but that preference definitely seems to lessen as the target gets more specific. – FumbleFingers Dec 22 '11 at 19:16
@FumbleFingers: There, is the difference you are looking for: it's in the wiki; but on Wikipedia. Notice that in the above examples, on goes with proper names/ domain names, for instance. – Kris Dec 23 '11 at 8:12
1  
@Kris: Let's not forget we're talking about a stylistic tendency here, not some black/white right/wrong. Also note that if you check UK/US usage for, say, in/on a database you'll see the US favours "in" by more than 5:1, but for the UK that preference is less than 3:1. – FumbleFingers Dec 23 '11 at 14:48
up vote 1 down vote

It is in the wiki.

Wiki is a community edited knowledge base, in which one could find something.

share|improve this answer
1  
unless "wiki" refers to the website on which the wiki resides... – Yuttadhammo Dec 22 '11 at 13:57
1  
I don't see why grammatically speaking the wiki should be any different to the database. Whilst it's true that in the database is more common, that doesn't imply "on" is in any way "incorrect". – FumbleFingers Dec 22 '11 at 19:09
@FumbleFingers: please see my comment under choster's post. – Kris Dec 23 '11 at 8:14

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.