Wikipedia is the foremost example of wiki software (more specifically, MediaWiki) – a type of Web site design that allows visitors to add content to the site. Wiki, based off of the Hawaiian “waka waka,” means “quick” in that language. This software, as it relates to Wikipedia, allows anyone to change almost any article they wish by clicking the “edit this page” button. Besides that primary feature, the MediaWiki software as applied to Wikipedia has several other unique features. The “history” tab allows anyone to view each and every time someone edits an article, and who edits it. Editors are identified anonymously by their IP address, or, if they sign up for the site, by a chosen user name. Registered users have advantages over non-registered users, such as being able to upload images, create pages, and maintaining a list of articles of a user’s choosing whose changes are presented in what is called a watchlist. Anyone can also click on the “discussion” tab and, as its name implies, is for discussing a particular article so that it can be improved. These features allow responsibility of edits to be accurately placed so that there is less chance of confusion or deception. Though contributors are often anonymous in terms of user names (or lack thereof), all edits are visible and can be traced back to an individual.
The audience of Wikipedia is as broad as the scope of the articles it contains. The project is consistently one of the top twenty most visited Web sites. People with a variety of ages visit the site every day. The project is geared toward no specific gender, creed, age group, or sex. Since finding articles on Wikipedia isn’t very difficult, the amount of digital immigrants that use the site for research is most likely as high as the amount of digital natives. However, dedicated editors and community members are, for the most part, digital natives. This is probably due to the fact that it takes some experience to understand some of the more technical issues of wiki software, and of course, it takes time to dedicate one’s writing to the site. Since most dedicated Wikipedians are digital natives, much of the site (such as the type of articles and their content) is noticeably influenced by the computer-savvy.
When people visit Wikipedia, they are looking for information on anything and everything. Because it’s a comprehensive encyclopedia with nearly 1.5 million articles, the main intent of Wikipedia is to provide as much information as possible to anyone who wishes it. Undoubtedly the world’s largest encyclopedia, Wikipedia is a change from the traditional encyclopedia with a few thousand articles.
Because Wikipedia has become so popular, it is edited by users every second that it’s up and running. Discussion posts occur less frequently, but not by much. Such frequent editing allows Wikipedia to grow at a rapid rate and provide updates in speedy fashion. News items, for example, are often immediately put it on Wikipedia as they develop before some media outlets even report them. This is advantageous when compared to the relatively slower news agencies in releasing a story, and some turn to wikis like Wikinews before all else. The ability of wikis to be current, then, is a powerful tool in the online world. The video belows demonstrates the power of constant updating through collaborative wiki software over time.
The use of the site depends greatly on the person. For example, people with interest in a certain genre of music will most likely edit, watch, and improve articles of bands, songs, and albums that correspond to that style of music. Specialized interests are a key factor in how often and how well articles are edited. This rather unbalanced development of Wikipedia is one of the criticisms often levied at the project, which will be discussed later on.
Wikipedians, when they engage in discussion, usually go with a more logical approach. This reflects the desire for the encyclopedia itself to be neutral; persuading someone based on emotion and feeling seems to damage this unbiased preference more than help it. Words are the most powerful tool used in discussion, and the with Wikipedia’s many policies and guidelines, one can use reason to be convincing. Oftentimes, an aspect of an article may be disputed, be it content, style, or format. This is where the discussion or “talk page” of an article comes into play. Instead of a disagreement escalating to continued reversions and name calling (commonly referred to as an edit war), users are encouraged to seek a more civilized and helpful solution by starting a discussion on the article’s talk page. From there, people argue their points in a respectful way. Personal attacks and incivility are prohibited for the purpose of discouraging pointless flaming and to encourage useful discussion.
As for the articles themselves, their main objective is not to take a stance on any topic, but merely introduce and cite examples of certain points of view. In this way, Wikipedia articles do not seek to persuade or argue for a certain perspective, but to inform without bias. It’s important to note, then, that articles are more than just objective; they are meant to remain objective while being written in an informative, non-emotive, encyclopedic way. How people perceive the subject of an article is based on their own decisions about the information presented to them by Wikipedia. Though whether something can be truly objective is debatable, the neutral point of view that Wikipedia strives for in its content is reasonably sound and sufficient.