Wikipedia

My dad’s vintage Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911) held the role as gold standard of information for school reports and research I needed while growing up. But now, it can’t even begin to hold a candle to information found on the web, and my favorite reference, Wikipedia (wikipedia.org). Since January 2001, this Web-based, open-source encyclopedia has grown to be available in more than 200 languages, constantly growing with content uploaded daily by volunteers to serve as the information clearinghouse for the Web. “Wiki,” coming from the Hawaiian “wiki wiki” meaning “quick or informal,” now defines the collaborative efforts put into creating software and working on the Web, which perfectly describes this project. Features include more than 2.3 million articles, a list of tasks so you can become involved with its development, a link you can click to call up a random article and information ranging from the theory of the Flying Spaghetti Monster to how a cathode ray tube works. Now you can also check out the Wiktionary (wiktionary.org), a free multi-lingual dictionary; Wikibooks (wikibooks.org), a collection of open-content textbooks; and Wikinews (wikinews.org), an open-source news page.