Despite increasing popularity of wiki, there is no such thing as the wiki syntax.  Instead there are many wiki syntaxes, each similar to others but different enough to prevent wiki users from learning the local dialect when they visit a wiki.  I haven't figured out exactly what factors are encouraging divergence or discouraging convergence, but wiki will remain a geeky version of the wild west unless some serious efforts are made toward standardization.

Since I don't see W3C getting out of their stubborn chickenshit mode anytime soon and IETF usually operates in reactive mode, there is little chance of standardization happening unless wiki developers, particularly those interested in commercialization of wiki technology lead the way.  The first major step should be a gathering of wiki developers, a Wiki Standardization Summit.

The goal of the summit should be clear: to agree upon and commit to a set of wiki standards on syntax, API, links, etc.  I am not interested in a summit where everyone just yaps for a few days and then leave with nothing more than good feelings.  So I think the summit attendence should be limited to those who are willing to commit time and resources to implement whatever is agreed upon at the end of the summit.

If you are interested, post a comment here.