Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia

Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia is an unusual and aptly named reference resource. This open‐content encyclopedia allows for general public authorship and editing of any of its articles, and its text may be freely copied and distributed. A collaborative project, started in January 2001, it embodies some of the brightest promises of the Web‐ collective intellectual enterprise, informed consensus, unrestricted access to knowledge, and the free sharing of information and software – while challenging commonly‐held notions of authorship and editorial control.

The goal of the Wikipedia project is to create a truly free universal encyclopedia. “Wiki” is a term used to...