Wikipedia: has the novelty worn off?
Published: 26 November 2009
Author: Catherine Archer
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Wikipedia is one of the fifth most popular websites in the the world
Wikipedia, founded in 2001 by Jimmy Wales, has become the fifth most popular website in the world, with around 300 million pages viewed each month. However, recent research revealed that tens of thousands of online editors are no longer contributing.
Felipe Ortega - who conducted the research - of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid believes the decline in volunteer editors is due to increased bureaucracy and the sense that Wikipedia, boasting over 14 million entries, is now fully established.
He said contributors "don't feel the spirit of the first years", adding: "The articles are very tightly controlled by others now, and that makes it hard to jump in and contribute."
Wikipedia, which allows registered users to modify entries, has played host to some embarrassing incidents. Namely prematurely announcing the death of Senator Edward Kennedy and seeing the Thierry Henry page flooded with obscenities after his handball helped France to beat Ireland in a World Cup play-off.
As a result, stricter editing regulations are now in place.
Andrew Dalby, author of The World And Wikipedia: How We Are Editing Reality, questioned whether there was much left to add to the site. Perhaps the novelty of online wiki-editing is beginning to wear off?
“Wikipedia is more than a website,” said founder Wales.
“We share a common cause: Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's our commitment."
However, with stricter regulations and less contributors, Wales’ mission statement is under threat.
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