Since Wikipedia was launched in 2001, the site has exploded across ethnic and cultural borders to include numerous articles on all disciplines. The site is one of the top-ten most visited websites in the United States. For today's generation, Wikipedia has become the first place to look, whether writing a research paper or just searching for information on an unfamiliar topic.
History
Wikipedia is the most successful on-line encyclopedia to be released since Internet usage became widespread. Launched in 2001, articles in Wikipedia are written in a number of languages allowing anyone to contribute subject to peer review. Although Wikipedia does receive criticism for allowing open posting of content which can be subject to purposeful posting of incorrect data, the peer-review and updating system implemented on the website provides for reporting and correction of purposely posted inaccurate information. More recently, Wikipedia has implemented a deliberate review process of the topics that are more commonly the subjects of 'hijacked' articles.
Significance
Wikipedia has become the first place that high school, college and graduate students go to begin research. There are varying opinions of the site across College campuses; some universities ban use of the site as a primary reference for papers and exams due to inaccurate data found in some areas, where other colleges embrace the site. For the colleges that accept it, instructors encourage the peer review process with their students and emphasize the questioning attitude of not just Wikipedia- found information, but also that found in other sources.
Function
Wikipedia provides a means for users to acquire information through keyword searches to find and read articles, photos and links to other related information. The site provides feedback mechanisms for readers to flag material that is inaccurate or out-of-date, as a warning for viewers of the website who may not be experienced in the subject matter. The site also encourages users to contribute new content or make improvements and corrections to existing content on the site. Wikipedia also provides a discussion forum in the context of each article to allow peer comment and review prior to making edits, corrections and additions to the site content.
Benefits
Wikipedia is the first wide-spread on-line resource which puts the end-user in control of choosing content topics, and depth vice using a team of editors to decide what the consumer desires to read. The site demonstrates the success that can be achieved through collaborative projects that are distributed across numerous contributors that are geographically separated. Wikipedia provides enormous benefits to the researcher by providing a centralized location or data store across all topics. This functionality permits the user to save time when starting a research project or paper, or just to satisfy a curiosity.
Potential
Wikipedia has been in existence for a short number of years. Already, the site has achieved large successes in providing an open-source based encyclopedia open to all, free of royalties or charges for use. As web standards continue to evolve and improve, WIkipedia shows a great potential to be able to further link and amplify data the user desires as the site matures into the future.
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