Wikipedia goes online: a wiki as a scratchpad for an encyclopedia
Summary
On 15 January 2001 Wikipedia went online at wikipedia.com as an offshoot of the online encyclopedia Nupedia, whose articles went through a lengthy review process. Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger wanted to collect drafts faster with a wiki that anyone could edit. The scratchpad quickly overtook the actual project and became the largest collection of knowledge in the world.
From feeder to main project
Nupedia belonged to Jimmy Wales’ advertising company Bomis and relied on experts and multi-stage review; after a year there were only a handful of finished articles. Larry Sanger suggested using a wiki as a complement. A first wiki ran from 10 January 2001 under nupedia.com, and on 15 January it moved to its own name, wikipedia.com.
The wiki was originally meant as a preliminary stage from which finished texts would move to Nupedia. Instead it became the place for both drafts and final versions, in hundreds of languages. Bomis initially provided servers and bandwidth.
Ideas
- A low barrier to participation can matter more than a strict review process.
- Open licences allow knowledge to be copied and reused.
- A side project can replace the main project.
- Version history makes errors correctable instead of preventing them.
Insights
- Wikipedia relies on correction after publication rather than review before it; this works because every change is traceable and reversible.
- The idea came from the free software movement: knowledge should be as free as source code.
Facts
- The first edit under wikipedia.com took place on 15 January 2001, two days after the domain was registered.
- A precursor wiki ran from 10 January 2001 under nupedia.com.
- Bomis in San Diego initially provided servers and bandwidth.
References
Remarks
- The source is Wikipedia’s article about its own history; it is well referenced but naturally not an independent account.
Recommendations
- With Wikipedia articles, check the references and the version history before adopting a statement.
- Correct errors yourself instead of just being annoyed by them.
Links to the original source and the Web Archive open in a new tab.