Related topics: online encyclopedia
Wikipedia
hideWikipedia 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
Wolfram Alpha 'Knowledge Engine' is Like a Modern Farmer's Almanac
May 08, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (22) |
5
(PhysOrg.com) -- Currently, there's a lot of hype and skepticism surrounding the latest "Google rival," a so-called search engine named Wolfram Alpha. In the near future, anyone with Internet access will be ...
Report claims Wikipedia losing editors in droves
Nov 30, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (16) |
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(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.
Irish student's Wikipedia hoax dupes newspapers
May 07, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
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An Irish student's fake quote on the Wikipedia online encyclopaedia has been used in newspaper obituaries around the world, the Irish Times reported.
Humanity's earliest written works go online
Apr 21, 2009 |
5 / 5 (7) |
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(AP) -- National libraries and the U.N. education agency put some of humanity's earliest written works online Tuesday, from ancient Chinese oracle bones to the first European map of the New World.
Review: $99 WikiReader is a pocket encyclopedia
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Oct 28, 2009 |
4 / 5 (2) |
0
(AP) -- When I was a kid, my dad bought a copy of the Encyclopedia Britannica. It had 32 volumes and took up 4 feet in the book case. I loved to sit on the couch and flip through it, reading articles at random.
Wikipedia testing new method to curb false info
Aug 25, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (3) |
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(AP) -- Wikipedia says it is testing a new method for curbing false information on pages devoted to individual people.
Wikipedia launches iPhone application
Aug 20, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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Wikipedia said it has released an iPhone application as part of a drive to open the pages of its revered online encyclopedia to the booming ranks of smart phone users.
English Wikipedia hosts three millionth article
Aug 17, 2009 |
2.7 / 5 (6) |
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The English version of user-generated online encylopedia Wikipedia hosted its three millionth article on Monday -- an entry about a Norwegian actress.
Wired editor acknowledges lifting Wiki material
Jun 24, 2009 |
not rated yet |
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(AP) -- The author of a new book about the wisdom of free products on the Web has acknowledged taking some liberties in his own work.
Wikipedia blocks Scientology from altering entries
May 30, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (18) |
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Wikipedia has blocked the Church of Scientology from editing entries at the communally-crafted online encyclopedia due to an unrelenting battle over the group's image.
Study suggests doctors could add to Wikipedia
Apr 30, 2009 |
3 / 5 (4) |
4
(AP) -- Researchers are suggesting that doctors could be spending more time writing and editing Wikipedia pages on medical topics, despite questions that have been raised about the collaborative online encyclopedia's ...
Wikipedia founder abandons Google search challenge
Apr 02, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (4) |
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Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has abandoned the floundering Wikia Search project, launched in January 2008 in an attempt to break the world's addiction to Google's Internet search service.
Microsoft closing Encarta online encyclopedia
Mar 30, 2009 |
3 / 5 (2) |
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Microsoft plans to close its Encarta online encyclopedia, which competes in an arena dominated by communally-crafted free Internet reference source Wikipedia.
Putting heads (and computers) together to solve global problems
Technology / Computer Sciences
Jan 13, 2009 |
4 / 5 (4) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Imagine if the planet's collective brainpower and computing power could be brought together to tackle some of the world's toughest problems, including global climate change and cancer. It may sound like science ...
Webby Awards name top 10 Internet moments of the decade
Nov 19, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (2) |
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The birth of Wikipedia, the death of Napster, the iPhone, Facebook, and Twitter were named by the Webby Awards on Wednesday as among the top 10 Internet moments of the decade.
