Wikipedia Volunteers ebbing: what next?
Whenever I had doubts or wanted to learn about something, the first thing that would come to my mind was go through Wikipedia. Wikipedia is the fifth most popular Web site in the world. Online volunteers who write and edit for this Web site are quitting en bloc for a variety of potential reasons. According to The Wall Street Journal, in the first three months of the year, Wikipedia suffered a net loss of more than 49,000 editors. Though the service still touts about 3 million active contributors, volunteers are leaving more quickly than new ones are joining.
Wikipedia is under persistent pressure to expand the scope and to police the accuracy of its data, a task that could become growingly difficult with fewer volunteers. Accidental and deliberate errors both have always plagued Wikipedia.
Eight years after Wikipedia commenced with an objective to furnish everyone in the world free access to “the sum of all human knowledge,” the wane in participation by the editors for Wikipedia have raised questions about the encyclopedia’s capability to continue expanding its breadth and improving its accuracy. Even dependability of the information is now under radar.
The Wikimedia Foundation – the not-for-profit that oversees Wikipedia – says there’s no reason for Wikialarm. “We need sufficient people to do the work that needs to be done,” is the word from executive director Sue Gardner. “But the purpose of the project is not participation.”
According to comScore Media Metrix, Wikipedia remains tremendously popular among users, with the number of Web visitors growing 20% in the 12 months ending in September.
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