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Wikipedia Celebrates 2 Decades of Service

For 20 years

By Cheryl E PrestonPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
Top Story - January 2021
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Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia founder

Two decades ago, a brand new idea came into being through the vision of Jimmy Wales, an American-British Internet entrepreneur and former financial trader. Wales was born in Huntsville, Alabama, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in finance from Auburn University and the University of Alabama respectively. In 1996, Wales and two partners founded Bomis, a web portal that featured entertainment and adult content. On January 15, 2001, Wales, along with Larry Sanger and others, launched Wikipedia and now the site is celebrating its 20th year.

This free, open-content encyclopedia became popular immediately and growth has exploded. Wales considers himself to be the sole founder of this venture where 280,000 Internet users worldwide are the creators. Wikipedia is being sustained by humans to create a free encyclopedia. It is written by volunteers, for everyone in the world and it is absolutely free. That's right there is no charge but several times a year they may ask the users to donate as little as $2.00 each to keep the site sustained. Wiki Media is now celebrating 20 years and it is all due to the worldwide support.

Initially, Wikipedia began as an English-language encyclopedia, but versions in other languages were quickly developed. There are 6.2 million articles, and more than 300 Wikipedia encyclopedia's around the globe the English version being the largest. Around 1.7 billion people use the service every month. Time magazine stated that the open-door policy of the service, allowing anyone to edit, is what has made Wikipedia "the biggest and possibly the best encyclopedia in the world, and was a testament to the vision of Jimmy Wales".

The Washington Post recently announced that Wikipedia should never have worked but it did. The news medium added that Wikipedia might be the safest place on earth in 2020. One of the best features of Wikipedia is that it is fluid. Information can be added to or deleted from articles at any time. The speed at which they update after celebrity deaths or breaking news is astounding, The ad-free site fights vicious battle to prevent fake news and misleading information. It is also one of the top 20 sites that are being visited on the Internet and that is impressive.

There are currently an astounding 55 million posts on the site where they are attempting to increase the number of women editors. It has been reported that about 14 percent of those who edit content have experienced harassment, which seems to be a new norm in the Internet age. Those who post false information can be banned and they rate sources to determine how reliable they are. Wikipedia continues to grow and evolve and offers a wealth of information.

As a writer, I always like to have at least two sources confirming the information I give the readers. Wikipedia has become my go to site and so far I have not been disappointed. Wikipedia does a good job of keeping up with ever-changing Internet rules and making sure their information is up to date. The site does have paid moderators who review posts that have been flagged by individuals or automated systems. I personally have been impressed with the accuracy of detail related to singing groups, and their hit singles and or albums.

When I cross-reference with other sites on the subjects I write about, I find that Wikipedia editors have done their job and done it well. The growing pains of the past 20 years are beginning to pay off, and the world is a better place for it. Who could ever have imagined 2 decades ago that a website that is for the people would be written by the people and of the people.

Happy 20th birthday Wikipedia, and may there be another celebration when you turn 40.

pop culture
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About the Creator

Cheryl E Preston

Cheryl is a widow who enjoys writing about current events, soap spoilers and baby boomer nostalgia. Tips are greatly appreciated.

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