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Wikipedia Approaches 3 Million Article Mark

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wikipedia approaches 3 million articles

One of the most popular websites in the world, Wikipedia, is close to breaking the barrier of an unprecedented three million articles in its database. This landmark deserves a look at the history of this revolutionary project that has come a long way since its start in January 2001.

The goal of the site was to form a comprehensive encyclopedia that would gain its information from the public; everyone from the top scientist in Harvard down to the simple man in Oklahoma would be allowed to contribute. The creators believed that every person had some valuable information that he or she could share with the encyclopedia, making it better than the ones that were written by a team of a few scientists and historians. Wikipedia started out slowly, reaching one million articles in five years, but it soon gained popularity and added its second set of one million articles 12 months later. Articles covering obscure topics began appearing, as the few people who held such knowledge could easily contribute to the growing encyclopedia.

Times have changed since the 2 millionth article, however. This event happened nearly two years ago, and the Wikipedia’s pace seems to be slowing down. One Californian scientist and his team discovered that the contributions of everyday people, of which Wikipedia has depended on and become famous for, is starting to fade away. The site is becoming more controlled by experts in their field, and the edits of everyday citizens are more likely to be reverted. This is a bit of a double-edged sword, as it excludes much of the original knowledge by others, yet it also preserves some of the integrity and accuracy of the articles. Many debate whether Wikipedia should continue this path or open more to the public, and this is something that only time will tell.

Subscribe to comments feed Comments (20 posted):

vishakan bhoopathi on 10/22/2009
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ya i know
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia anyone can add to or edit. A highly popular resource, Wikipedia has become a primary research tool of college students, and it may help them develop comparative research skills. However, since Wikipedia’s entries don’t undergo verified expert review, many academics are concerned about its use for academic purposes.
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ruchi on 10/24/2009
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well i truely agree to what all is said above no doubt we can have better work done by more number of people not even the work gets divided but also we get different opinions and thoughts
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ricky on 10/24/2009
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no doubt even the worst of person has something good with him or her just what differs is how you take it
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jane on 10/24/2009
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two persons cannot have opinions beating millions of people then however intelligent they may be
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niki on 10/24/2009
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when we talk of encyclopedia the thing that comes to mind is interesting and unmatched details which itself says that one person cannot do this tedious task
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sakshi on 10/24/2009
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i agree because wikipedia in itself has proved that what millions can do was not possible for him alone
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ankit on 10/24/2009
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in my personal opinion i truely agree to wikipedia he himself changed the history which is not a easy task
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jessica on 10/24/2009
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its again a double edged sword because what can be done by an scientist alone cannot be dont by an individual .
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panku on 10/24/2009
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sites are loosing is importance not because of wikipedia but till the time he was there he did his job but now no one is there to keep up his name
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deepak on 10/24/2009
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wikipedia started slowly and reached million n when millions were together then how can this loose its importance in day or two just with age the number is decreasing ans hence the importance
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