Spring Break
'Wikipedia' lets users write, edit own entries
Issue date: 9/28/04 Section: USA & World
NEW YORK (AP) _ Taran Rampersad didn't complain when he failed to find anything on his hometown in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Instead, he simply wrote his own entry for San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago.
Wikipedia is unique for an encyclopedia because anybody can add, edit and even erase. And the Wikipedia is just one _ albeit the best known _ of a growing breed of Internet knowledge-sharing communities called Wikis.
There are Wiki cookbooks, a compendium of quotations and a repository on guitar players. College professors use Wikis to spur discussion. Software developers create online manuals. Small teams within businesses track projects, exchange ideas and list good places for lunch.
Though their openness can encourage mischief _ spammers have been known to add porn links _ Wikis have the power to change how we live and work, replacing e-mail as a tool of collaboration and spanning hierarchies.
``Anyone can post to a Wiki in real time,'' said John Bobowicz, who created several for the Java programming community. ``You can go to a Wiki and you can feel like your voice is just as loud and your opinion is worth as much as everyone else. It levels the playing field.''
Wikis, based on the Hawaiian word ``wiki wiki'' for ``quick,'' grew out of programmer Ward Cunningham's desire for a new way to discuss software design. He launched the first Wiki in 1995. Thousands more followed, including Wikipedia in 2001.
Though for now largely the domain of techies, Wikis are poised to become what blogs have turned into _ still in the Internet avant garde yet widespread enough to be influential.
At its core, a Wiki is an empty room, devoid of furniture and decoration, said Sunir Shah, founder of an online community called Meatball. Visitors bring the personality and mission, turning the Wiki into a library, a party or a conference room.
Wikis are also described as online whiteboards, shared notebooks or group memory. They are forums for sharing knowledge and control _ and fostering trust in the process.
Wikipedia is unique for an encyclopedia because anybody can add, edit and even erase. And the Wikipedia is just one _ albeit the best known _ of a growing breed of Internet knowledge-sharing communities called Wikis.
There are Wiki cookbooks, a compendium of quotations and a repository on guitar players. College professors use Wikis to spur discussion. Software developers create online manuals. Small teams within businesses track projects, exchange ideas and list good places for lunch.
Though their openness can encourage mischief _ spammers have been known to add porn links _ Wikis have the power to change how we live and work, replacing e-mail as a tool of collaboration and spanning hierarchies.
``Anyone can post to a Wiki in real time,'' said John Bobowicz, who created several for the Java programming community. ``You can go to a Wiki and you can feel like your voice is just as loud and your opinion is worth as much as everyone else. It levels the playing field.''
Wikis, based on the Hawaiian word ``wiki wiki'' for ``quick,'' grew out of programmer Ward Cunningham's desire for a new way to discuss software design. He launched the first Wiki in 1995. Thousands more followed, including Wikipedia in 2001.
Though for now largely the domain of techies, Wikis are poised to become what blogs have turned into _ still in the Internet avant garde yet widespread enough to be influential.
At its core, a Wiki is an empty room, devoid of furniture and decoration, said Sunir Shah, founder of an online community called Meatball. Visitors bring the personality and mission, turning the Wiki into a library, a party or a conference room.
Wikis are also described as online whiteboards, shared notebooks or group memory. They are forums for sharing knowledge and control _ and fostering trust in the process.