Related topics: online encyclopedia



Wikipedia

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Wikipedia is a free, web-based and collaborative multilingual encyclopedia, born in the project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its name is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a technology for creating collaborative websites, from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning "quick") and encyclopedia. Wikipedia's 13 million articles (2.9 million in the English Wikipedia) have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world, and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone who can access the Wikipedia website. Proposed by Richard Stallman, it was launched in January 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, it is currently the most popular general reference work on the Internet.

Critics of Wikipedia accuse it of systemic bias and inconsistencies, and allege that it favors consensus over credentials in its editorial process. Wikipedia's reliability and accuracy are also an issue. Other criticisms center on its susceptibility to vandalism and the addition of spurious or unverified information, though scholarly work suggests that vandalism is generally short-lived.

Jonathan Dee, of The New York Times, and Andrew Lih, in the 5th International Symposium on Online Journalism, have cited the importance of Wikipedia not only as an encyclopedic reference but also as a frequently-updated news resource because of how quickly articles about recent events appear.

When Time magazine recognized You as its Person of the Year for 2006, acknowledging the accelerating success of online collaboration and interaction by millions of users around the world, it cited Wikipedia as one of three examples of Web 2.0 services, along with YouTube and MySpace.

For more information about Wikipedia, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with wikipedia


Wikipedia

Report claims Wikipedia losing editors in droves

Technology / Internet

created Nov 30, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (16) | comments 2 weblog

(PhysOrg.com) -- The findings of a Spanish study claiming that Wikipedia's editors are leaving at an alarming rate have been refuted by the Wikimedia Foundation and by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales.





Search results for wikipedia


Apple's  iPod Touch

Curtain falling on 'Digital Decade'

Technology / Hi Tech

created Dec 27, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (11) | comments 8

While it got off to a rocky start with the overhyped Y2K bug and dotcom bubble, the era dubbed the "Digital Decade" by Microsoft's Bill Gates has turned out to be a dizzying period of innovation.


People who 'see' numbers have better memories for dates

People who 'see' numbers have better memories for dates

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 3 weblog

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new research project has shown that people who perceive numbers visually, and who see sequences of numbers as visual patterns, have better memories for dates and events in the past than ...


EU regulators softening stance on Oracle-Sun

Technology / Business

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

(AP) -- European Union regulators appear to be softening their opposition to Oracle Corp.'s proposed $7.4 billion takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc., a shift that has resurrected some investors' hopes that one of the year's ...


Tree of life

Evolution may take giant leaps

Biology / Evolution

created Dec 11, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (29) | comments 39 weblog

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study of thousands of species of plants and animals suggests new species may arise from rare events instead of through an accumulation of small changes made in response to changes in ...


DNA study sheds new light on horse evolution

DNA study sheds new light on horse evolution

Biology / Evolution

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 50

(PhysOrg.com) -- Ancient DNA retrieved from extinct horse species from around the world has challenged one of the textbook examples of evolution - the fossil record of the horse family Equidae over the past ...


Gift Guide: High-tech happiness for $100 or less (AP)

Gift Guide: High-tech happiness for $100 or less

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- No one's going to blame you for keeping holiday gifts minimal this year. But if you want to round out your handmade cards, scarves, pickles and jam with a gadget or gizmo, here are a handful of our ...



List of search results for wikipedia