Wikimedia press releases/Facts & Figures/General information

The information on this page is appliable for Wikimedia project in general.

Key messages on Wikimedia project

• cf. Mission

• Wikimedia project is not a marketing vehicle, it is a haven for lovers of knowledge.

• Individuals should be "bold" and fix any errors they see.

Facts & figures you should know about Wikimedia project

• There are nine projects as of March 2007.

• Wikipedia is the oldest and largest project among those nine projects. See also Wikimedia press releases/Facts & Figures/Wikipedia.

• There are over 500 projects in a sum by language and by interest.

• The largest site is English Wikipedia.

• Created entirely by volunteers.

• Wikipedia is one of top five brands in the world [1].

• Wikimedia project is not an authoritative source. It is a great place to begin research, but should not be cited in papers, exams, etc.
  • ...however, because Wikimedia project is sourced from reputable sources, particular aspects of it can be successfully cited. It's generally a good idea to cite Wikimedia project in addition to other more traditional reference sources.

• Wikimedia project is a "wiki" – a collaborative, open-source medium – thus, articles are never complete, and are continually being edited and improved upon. The volunteer community of editors is vigilant in trying to check edits and correct errors, but at any one time, there is no guarantee an article is 100 percent correct.

• Except Wikinews, Content is licensed under GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL). Wikinews is licensed under CC-By. This means individuals can copy, distribute and modify each other’s work, as long as it maintains these freedoms (known as "copyleft").

• The entire database is freely downloadable.

• Ward Cunningham, the inventor of the wiki, is on the Advisory Board to the Board of Trustees.

• page view (statistics)

Links

• What we need the money for