## 2 General Context: Geocollaboration in the GeoWeb 2.0 Era
### Geocollaboration in the Era of GeoWeb 2.0  
In functional terms, collaboration can be considered as the entanglement of three complex processes having different, but interdependent objectives: communication, cooperation and coordination [18, 19, 20]. In this paper, we refer to Geocollaboration as collaborative working situations using geographic data (geometric (shapes and locations), graphic and descriptive elements, and even associated metadata), genomics technologies, and also processes of collaborative design, data co-production and spatial representation [20]. A considerable amount of research has been conducted on Geocollaboration in the realm of GISciences [21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26]. Geocollaboration is based on a constant interaction between geographic contents and users. Maps (more generally spatial representations) have become a medium in which to ask questions and gather local knowledge in a common space open to all. The number of technological solutions, and of both methods and concepts as well, on which geocollaboration is based, increase along with the development and democratization of GeoWeb 2.0 tools [27,28]. The geospatial technologies that are now available allow users (professional and amateur) to read and write maps, and at the same time manage data in an organized manner. As mentioned by [29], working together, collaboratively, suggests that tools should allow several participants to work in a private common space while providing a historical log of who made changes and where. To do so, documented data (metadata) and identified skills are necessary, along with a location-based content management system providing efficient versioning methods. Computer-assisted collaborative work allows several persons to work on the same document, or the same application, with no constraint of time, place or tools and processes [30,31]. Collective and organized working methods integrate users into an ongoing effort to improve every task, as well as the project as a whole, without a set and predetermined division of the tasks [32]. In order to support this process, current collaborative tools, such as CMS or Wikis, offer numerous features to publish and share contents (documents, knowledge, information). These tools allow syndication of the contents generated by all the contributor actors, and are used to maximize the creativity and efficiency of groups involved in large-scale projects, such as the online encyclopedia: Wikipedia. Wikis are a specific type of CMS. They are more simplified, relatively unstructured and content-centered [33]. They are designed to enable several persons to build the content of the same page keeping track of every version, which can be applied to the production of a map. Wiki basic principles are at odds with the linear production of information and traditional hierarchical functioning. They follow an iterative and non-cumulative approach to produce knowledge, and they represent new information management practices. When applied to the production of geospatial data, two features make Wikis particularly collaborative. On the one hand, location-based content can be modified, enriched, updated and deleted by any user in synchronous or asynchronous mode. On the other hand, all users' contributions are stored and dynamically accessible through a history of actions, which allows the evolution of the design process to be traced [34, 35]. Wikis offer the possibility of saving a very large number of versions of the same page, and to revert to a former version. Wikification can be considered as a knowledge management method that meets the requirements of collective work, as well as ensuring continuous communication within working teams and a constant evolution of the contents. Managing multiple users engaged in editing \"the same continuous geographic database at the same time\" is not a new challenge for GI Science [36]. Since the mid-90s, multi-user transactional editing tools have been developed by the GIS and spatial database community.