Nupedia: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
|name = Nupedia |
|name = Nupedia |
||
|logo = |
|logo = |
||
|screenshot = |
|||
|screenshot = [[File:Nupedia, the open content encyclopedia 2000-08-15.png|250px]] |
|||
|type = [[Internet encyclopedia project]] |
|type = [[Internet encyclopedia project]] |
||
|language = English, |
|language = English, French (under construction) |
||
|registration = |
|registration = Optional but required for certain tasks |
||
|author = Deutschlandkaiser, Helixsoft, Spanion Authority, NUPEDIA, Kerry Stapleton |
|||
|owner = [[Bomis]] |
|||
|current status = Operational |
|||
|author = [[Jimmy Wales]], [[Larry Sanger]] |
|||
|Web address: [http://encyclopedianupedia.wikia.com/wiki/Nupedia:Welcome] |
|||
|current status = Defunct since September 2003; succeeded by [[Wikipedia]] |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
[[Image:Nupedia oldlogo.PNG|300px|thumb|right|Nupedia's original HTML logo]] |
[[Image:Nupedia oldlogo.PNG|300px|thumb|right|Nupedia's original HTML logo]] |
||
'''Nupedia''' |
'''Nupedia''' is an English-language [[World Wide Web|Web-based]] [[encyclopedia]] whose articles are written by volunteer contributors, and regulary patrolled by an administration team, working in a manner simmilar to Wikipedia. It was founded by [[Spanion Authority]] on Wikia.com, as part of the [[Numedia Foundation]]. Nupedia was founded in 2013 and is still operational today. It is mostly known now as the predecessor of [[Wikipedia]], but Nupedia is now the main competitor and rival to Wikipedia. Nupedia is built by the community, with the rules and administration documents having been written by Kerry Stapleton. |
||
|first=Larry|last=Sanger |
|||
|title=The Early History of Nupedia and Wikipedia: A Memoir |
|||
|date=April 18, 2005|work=Slashdot|accessdate=May 26, 2012 |
|||
|url=http://features.slashdot.org/features/05/04/18/164213.shtml}} |
|||
</ref> |
|||
Unlike Wikipedia, Nupedia does not have a limit on what article scan be about, or who can write them; thus, anybody can write articles on almost anything. The old Nupedia wanted scholars to volunteer content, but the current Nupedia allows any contributors to join. |
|||
Unlike Wikipedia, Nupedia was not a [[wiki]]; it was instead characterized by an extensive [[peer review|peer-review]] process, designed to make its articles of a quality comparable to that of professional encyclopedias. Nupedia wanted scholars to volunteer content. Before it ceased operating, Nupedia produced 25 approved articles<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.albanylawjournal.org/Documents/Articles/20.2.421-Chen.pdf|title=Self-governing online communities in Web 2.0: privacy, anonymity and accountability in Wikipedia|publisher=Albany Law Journal|last=Shun-Ling|first=Chen|date=May 5, 2010|accessdate=March 1, 2013}}</ref> that had completed its review process (three articles also existed in two versions of different lengths), and 74 more articles were in progress. [[Jimmy Wales]] preferred Wikipedia's easier posting of articles, but Larry Sanger wanted to control content at Nupedia<ref name=SangerMemoir/> and founded [[Citizendium]] instead. |
|||
In June 2008, [[CNET]] UK listed Nupedia as one of the greatest defunct websites in the still young [[internet history]], noting how the strict control had limited the posting of articles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gadgets/the-greatest-defunct-web-sites-and-dotcom-disasters-49296926/|title=The greatest defunct Web sites and dotcom disasters|publisher=CNET UK|first=Nate|last=Lanxon|date=June 5, 2008|page=5}}</ref> |
In June 2008, [[CNET]] UK listed the old Nupedia as one of the greatest defunct websites in the still young [[internet history]], noting how the strict control had limited the posting of articles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gadgets/the-greatest-defunct-web-sites-and-dotcom-disasters-49296926/|title=The greatest defunct Web sites and dotcom disasters|publisher=CNET UK|first=Nate|last=Lanxon|date=June 5, 2008|page=5}}</ref> The new Nupedia hopes to adress issuses highlighted here. |
||
==History== |
==History== |
||
===The Old Nupedia=== |
|||
In the fall of 1999, Wales began thinking about an online encyclopedia built by volunteers and, in January 2000, hired Larry Sanger to oversee its development. |
In the fall of 1999, Wales began thinking about an online encyclopedia built by volunteers and, in January 2000, hired Larry Sanger to oversee its development. The project officially went online on March 9, 2000.<ref name="Liane Gouthro">{{cite news |
||
|first=Liane |
|first=Liane |
||
|last=Gouthro |
|last=Gouthro |
||
| Line 43: | Line 39: | ||
Besides leading to discontinuation of the GNE project, Wikipedia also led to the gradual demise of Nupedia. Due to the collapse of the internet economy at that time, Jimmy Wales decided to discontinue funding for a salaried editor-in-chief in December 2001,<ref name="hive" /> and Sanger resigned from both projects soon thereafter.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} After Sanger's departure, Nupedia increasingly became an afterthought to Wikipedia; of the Nupedia articles that completed the review process, only two did so after 2001. As Nupedia dwindled into inactivity, the idea of converting it into a stable version of approved Wikipedia articles was occasionally broached, but never implemented. The Nupedia website at nupedia.com was shut down on September 26, 2003.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}} Nupedia's encyclopedic content, which was often described as limited, has since been assimilated into Wikipedia.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Nupedia and Wikipedia#Articles copied to Wikipedia|Wikipedia:Nupedia and Wikipedia: Articles copied to Wikipedia]]</ref> |
Besides leading to discontinuation of the GNE project, Wikipedia also led to the gradual demise of Nupedia. Due to the collapse of the internet economy at that time, Jimmy Wales decided to discontinue funding for a salaried editor-in-chief in December 2001,<ref name="hive" /> and Sanger resigned from both projects soon thereafter.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} After Sanger's departure, Nupedia increasingly became an afterthought to Wikipedia; of the Nupedia articles that completed the review process, only two did so after 2001. As Nupedia dwindled into inactivity, the idea of converting it into a stable version of approved Wikipedia articles was occasionally broached, but never implemented. The Nupedia website at nupedia.com was shut down on September 26, 2003.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}} Nupedia's encyclopedic content, which was often described as limited, has since been assimilated into Wikipedia.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Nupedia and Wikipedia#Articles copied to Wikipedia|Wikipedia:Nupedia and Wikipedia: Articles copied to Wikipedia]]</ref> |
||
===The New Nupedia=== |
|||
==Editorial process== |
|||
Nupedia had a seven-step editorial process, consisting of: |
|||
#Assignment |
|||
#Finding a lead reviewer |
|||
#Lead review |
|||
#Open review |
|||
#Lead copyediting |
|||
#Open copyediting |
|||
#Final approval and markup |
|||
Despite closure, Nupedia re-opened in 2013 to rival Wikipedia, as it wanted freer posting of articles and uploading of files then was available on Wikipedia; the wiki has a much more leanient file policy than Wikipedia. It is no longer affiliated with Larry Sanger or Jimmy Wales, instead being operated by the Numedia Foundation. Later in 2013 it became part of Project Solaris and later Wiki-Connect (known at the time as Operation: Small Wiki Expansion and Connection). |
|||
Authors were expected to have expert knowledge (although the definition of expert allowed for a degree of flexibility, and it was acknowledged that some articles could be written by a good writer, rather than an expert ''per se'')<ref>{{cite web|title = Nupedia.com Editorial Policy Guidelines (Version 3.31)|date = November 16, 2000|work = Nupedia|url = http://www.nupedia.com/policy.shtml|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20010331211742/www.nupedia.com/policy.shtml|archivedate = April 28, 2001|accessdate = June 3, 2010|quote = The rule of thumb an editor should bear in mind is: would an article on this topic be of significantly greater quality if it were written by an expert on the subject? If yes, we will require that the writer be an expert on the subject. If no, nonspecialists (who are good writers) are more than welcome. }}</ref> and the editors approving articles for publication were expected "to be true experts in their fields and (with few exceptions) [to] possess PhDs".<ref name="NupediaEditor">{{cite web|title = How to be an editor or peer reviewer for Nupedia|work = Nupedia|url = http://www.nupedia.com/steering.shtml|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20010410035607/www.nupedia.com/steering.shtml|archivedate = April 28, 2001|accessdate = June 3, 2010 }}</ref> |
|||
==Software development== |
==Software development== |
||
Nupedia uses wikitext and Lua in line with most other Wikia and Numedia websites. |
|||
| ⚫ | Nupedia was powered by NupeCode [[collaborative software]]. [[NupeCode]] is [[Free software|free]]/[[open source]] software (released under the [[GNU General Public License]]) designed for large [[peer review]] projects. The code was available via Nupedia's [[Concurrent Versions System|CVS]] repository. One of the problems experienced by Nupedia during much of its existence was that the software lacked functionality. Much of the missing functionality had been mocked-up using underlined blocks of text which appeared to be hyperlinks, but actually were not.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}} |
||
| ⚫ | The old Nupedia was powered by NupeCode [[collaborative software]]. [[NupeCode]] is [[Free software|free]]/[[open source]] software (released under the [[GNU General Public License]]) designed for large [[peer review]] projects. The code was available via Nupedia's [[Concurrent Versions System|CVS]] repository. One of the problems experienced by Nupedia during much of its existence was that the software lacked functionality. Much of the missing functionality had been mocked-up using underlined blocks of text which appeared to be hyperlinks, but actually were not.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}} |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
==See also== |
==See also== |
||
| Line 65: | Line 55: | ||
* [[Scholarpedia]] |
* [[Scholarpedia]] |
||
* [[Wikipedia]] |
* [[Wikipedia]] |
||
* [[Citizendium]] |
|||
==References== |
==References== |
||
{{reflist|50em}} |
{{reflist|50em}} |
||
==Further reading== |
|||
* Larry Sanger, [http://features.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/18/164213&tid=95&tid=149&tid=9 The Early History of Nupedia and Wikipedia: A Memoir Part 1] and [http://features.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/19/1746205&tid=95 Part 2]. [[Slashdot]], April 2005. |
|||
* Larry Sanger, [http://archive.org/details/NupediaStatementOfEditorialPolicyversion2 "Nupedia.com Statement of Editorial Policy, Version 2.1,"] Printable Version dated May 10, 2000. |
|||
* Larry Sanger, [http://archive.org/details/NupediaStatementOfEditorialPolicyversion3 "Nupedia.com Statement of Editorial Policy, Version 3.2,"] Printable Version dated June 23, 2000. |
|||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
{{commons category|Nupedia}} |
{{commons category|Nupedia}} |
||
{{wikisource|Nupedia Open Content License}} |
{{wikisource|Nupedia Open Content License}} |
||
| ⚫ | |||
* [http://web.archive.org/web/*/www.nupedia.com/ Earlier versions of Nupedia] (from the [[Internet Archive]]) |
* [http://web.archive.org/web/*/www.nupedia.com/ Earlier versions of Nupedia] (from the [[Internet Archive]]) |
||
| ⚫ | |||
{{Wikipediahistory}} |
|||
[[Category:Internet encyclopedias]] |
[[Category:Internet encyclopedias]] |
||
| Line 86: | Line 71: | ||
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2000]] |
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2000]] |
||
[[Category:2003 disestablishments]] |
[[Category:2003 disestablishments]] |
||
[[Category:Defunct websites]] |
|||
Revision as of 18:55, 25 August 2014
Type of site | Internet encyclopedia project |
|---|---|
| Available in | English, French (under construction) |
| Created by | Deutschlandkaiser, Helixsoft, Spanion Authority, NUPEDIA, Kerry Stapleton |
| Registration | Optional but required for certain tasks |
Nupedia is an English-language Web-based encyclopedia whose articles are written by volunteer contributors, and regulary patrolled by an administration team, working in a manner simmilar to Wikipedia. It was founded by Spanion Authority on Wikia.com, as part of the Numedia Foundation. Nupedia was founded in 2013 and is still operational today. It is mostly known now as the predecessor of Wikipedia, but Nupedia is now the main competitor and rival to Wikipedia. Nupedia is built by the community, with the rules and administration documents having been written by Kerry Stapleton.
Unlike Wikipedia, Nupedia does not have a limit on what article scan be about, or who can write them; thus, anybody can write articles on almost anything. The old Nupedia wanted scholars to volunteer content, but the current Nupedia allows any contributors to join.
In June 2008, CNET UK listed the old Nupedia as one of the greatest defunct websites in the still young internet history, noting how the strict control had limited the posting of articles.[1] The new Nupedia hopes to adress issuses highlighted here.
History
The Old Nupedia
In the fall of 1999, Wales began thinking about an online encyclopedia built by volunteers and, in January 2000, hired Larry Sanger to oversee its development. The project officially went online on March 9, 2000.[2] By November 2000, however, only two full-length articles had been published.[3]
From its beginning, Nupedia was a free content encyclopedia,[2] with Bomis intending to generate revenue from online ads on Nupedia.com.[3] Initially the project used a homegrown license, the Nupedia Open Content License. In January 2001, it switched to the GNU Free Documentation License at the urging of Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation.[4]
Also in January 2001, Nupedia started Wikipedia as a side-project to allow collaboration on articles prior to entering the peer review process.[5] This attracted interest from both sides, as it provided the less bureaucratic structure favored by advocates of the GNE encyclopedia. As a result, GNE never really developed, and the threat of competition between the projects was averted. As Wikipedia grew and attracted contributors, it quickly developed a life of its own and began to function largely independently of Nupedia, although Sanger initially led activity on Wikipedia by virtue of his position as Nupedia's editor-in-chief.
Besides leading to discontinuation of the GNE project, Wikipedia also led to the gradual demise of Nupedia. Due to the collapse of the internet economy at that time, Jimmy Wales decided to discontinue funding for a salaried editor-in-chief in December 2001,[6] and Sanger resigned from both projects soon thereafter.[citation needed] After Sanger's departure, Nupedia increasingly became an afterthought to Wikipedia; of the Nupedia articles that completed the review process, only two did so after 2001. As Nupedia dwindled into inactivity, the idea of converting it into a stable version of approved Wikipedia articles was occasionally broached, but never implemented. The Nupedia website at nupedia.com was shut down on September 26, 2003.[citation needed] Nupedia's encyclopedic content, which was often described as limited, has since been assimilated into Wikipedia.[7]
The New Nupedia
Despite closure, Nupedia re-opened in 2013 to rival Wikipedia, as it wanted freer posting of articles and uploading of files then was available on Wikipedia; the wiki has a much more leanient file policy than Wikipedia. It is no longer affiliated with Larry Sanger or Jimmy Wales, instead being operated by the Numedia Foundation. Later in 2013 it became part of Project Solaris and later Wiki-Connect (known at the time as Operation: Small Wiki Expansion and Connection).
Software development
Nupedia uses wikitext and Lua in line with most other Wikia and Numedia websites.
The old Nupedia was powered by NupeCode collaborative software. NupeCode is free/open source software (released under the GNU General Public License) designed for large peer review projects. The code was available via Nupedia's CVS repository. One of the problems experienced by Nupedia during much of its existence was that the software lacked functionality. Much of the missing functionality had been mocked-up using underlined blocks of text which appeared to be hyperlinks, but actually were not.[citation needed]
As part of the project, a new version of the original software (called "NuNupedia") was under development. NuNupedia was implemented for testing at SourceForge, but never reached a sufficient stage of development to replace the original software.[citation needed].
See also
References
- ^ Lanxon, Nate (June 5, 2008). "The greatest defunct Web sites and dotcom disasters". CNET UK. p. 5.
- ^ a b Gouthro, Liane (March 10, 2000). "Building the world's biggest encyclopedia". PC World. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
- ^ a b Frauenfelder, Mark (November 21, 2000). "The next generation of online encyclopedias". The Industry Standard/CNN.
- ^ jwales (January 17, 2001). "Re:GNUPedia = Nupedia?". GNUPedia Project Starting. Slashdot.
- ^ Larry Sanger (January 10, 2001). "Let's make a wiki". Nupedia-l mailing list. Internet Archive. Archived from the original on April 14, 2003.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
hivewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Wikipedia:Nupedia and Wikipedia: Articles copied to Wikipedia
External links
- [1] - the current Nupedia
- Earlier versions of Nupedia (from the Internet Archive)