(via Fuzheado)

In the Asian Wall Street Journal (June 17, 2005), technology columnist Jeremy Wagstaff did an experiment and contacted a number of academics, asking for their opinions on the quality of articles for their respective areas of expertise. The response was overwhelmingly positive, on subjects such as Hinduism, naval aviation, quantum and laser science, information security, nanotechnology and digital poetry. Wagstaff concluded, "If the experts can't pick big holes in Wikipedia, I'd say the rest of us can use it."


Press clippings

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A collection of great quotes about Wikipedia.

  • "Wer was wissen will, greift zum Lexikon — oder sucht in der Online-Enzyklopädie „Wikipedia“. Denn die ist gratis und schnell verfügbar." (Medienspiegel, #7, July 2004)
    • (Translation) "Those who want to know something, will grab for an encyclopaedia — or search the online encyclopedia “Wikipedia”. After all this one is free of charge and quickly available."
    • (Traduction) "Quiconque veut savoir quelque chose consultera une encyclopédie — ou fera une recherche dans l'encyclopédie en ligne “Wikipedia”. Après tout, elle est gratuite et disponible rapidement."
    • (Traduzione) "Chi desidera sapere prende l'enciclopedia - oppure cerca nell'enciclopedia online "Wikipedia". Perché è gratis e velocemente disponibile."
    • (Traducción) "Aquellos que desean saber algo tomarán una enciclopedia; o buscarán en la enciclopedia en línea "Wikipedia", ya que ésta es gratis y está disponible al instante."
    • (Tradução) "Aqueles que desejam saber algo, pegarão uma enciclopédia, ou irão fazer uma busca na enciclopédia online 'Wikipédia', afinal essa é gratuita e rapidamente disponível."
  • "One of the most fascinating developments of the Digital Age...extraordinary..." (Dan Gillmor, San José Mercury News, Jan. 25, 2004)
    • (Übersetzung) "Eine der faszinierendsten Entwicklungen des Digitalen Zeitalters ... außergewöhnlich ..."
    • (Traduzione) "Uno degli sviluppi più affascinanti dell'Era Digitale ... straordinario ..."
    • (Traduction) "C'est un des developpements plus fascinants de l'Age Numerique...extraordinaire"
    • (Tradução) "Um dos desenvolvimentos mais fascinantes da Era Digital... extraordinário..."
  • "It's wicked..." (Far Eastern Economic Review, Feb. 19, 2004)
    • (Übersetzung) "Es ist toll..."
    • (Traduction) "C'est redoutable..."
  • "A brilliant online encyclopædia, invaluable for historical stuff..." (Bill Bailey, interview with The Times, Feb. 21, 2004)
    • (Übersetzung) " Eine brilliante Online-Enzyklopädie, unschätzbar wertvoll für Historisches"
    • (Traduction) "Une brillante encyclopédie en ligne, inestimable pour les sujets historiques..."
    • (Tradução) "Uma brilhante enciclopédia online, inestimável quando o assunto é História..."
  • "One of the best reference resources on the Web..." (Andrew Kantor, USA Today.com, Mar. 26, 2004
    • (Übersetzung) " Eine der besten Referenzen, die man im Web findet"
    • (Traduction) "Une des meilleures ressources de référence sur le Web..."
    • (Tradução) "Uma das melhores fontes de referência da rede..."
  • "Impressive...covering every topic imaginable...informative and authoritative." (The Guardian, Apr. 1, 2004)
    • (Übersetzung)"Eindrucksvoll...deckt jedes erdenkliche Thema ab...informativ und zuverlässig"
    • (Traduction) "Impressionnant... tous les sujets imaginables sont couverts... informative et bien informée."
    • (Tradução) "Impressionante... cobrindo cada tópico imaginável... informativa e autoridade em cada assunto."
  • "Many fascinating, detailed, well-written articles." (PC Magazine, Apr. 20, 2004)
    • (Übersetzung) "Viele faszinierende, detaillierte und gut geschriebene Artikel."
    • (Traduction) "Beaucoup d'articles fascinants, détaillés et bien écrits."
    • (Tradução) "Muitos artigos fascinantes, detalhados e bem-escritos."
  • "One of the most reliably useful sources of information around, on or off-line." (BBC News, Apr. 23, 2004)
    • (Übersetzung) "Eine der verlässlichsten Informationsquellen, die es gibt, egal ob on- oder offline"
    • (Traduction) "Une des sources d'information parmi les plus utiles et les plus sûres, que ce soit en ou hors-ligne."
    • (Tradução) "Uma das fontes de informação mais confiáveis e úteis, online e offline."
  • "Here's an encyclopedia that evokes a variation on the famous Groucho line: would you get your information from a reference work that accepts you as an author?" (Newsweek, May 3, 2004)
    • (Übersetzung) "Hier ist eine Enzyklopädie, die eine Variation des berühmteren Groucho-Spruches heraufbeschwört: Würdest du deine Informationen von einem Werk holen, das dich als Autor akzeptiert?"
    • (Traduction) "C'est une encyclopedie qui évoque une variation de la fameuse ligne Groucho : désirez-vous obtenir votre information d'après une oeuvre de référence qui vous accepte en tant qu'auteur ?"
    • (Tradução) "Aqui está uma enciclopédia que invoca uma variação daquela famosa fala de Groucho: você pegaria informações de uma obra de referência que aceita você como autor?"
  • "Thousands of volunteers [have] written a breathtaking 500,000 articles in 50 languages since 2001—all thanks to the defining feature of wikis." (Businessweek, June 2004)
    • (Übersetzung) "Tausende von Freiwilligen haben seit 2001 atemberaubende 500'000 Artikel in 50 Sprachen geschrieben—alles Dank der hervorragenden Möglichkeiten von Wikis."
    • (Traduction) "Des milliers de volontaires ont écrit en une seule respiration 500 000 articles dans 50 langues depuis 2001 ; tous nos remerciements pour cette formidable possibilité qu'offrent les wikis."
  • "The web's most stunning and exciting site..." (David Williamson, icWales.com, June 1, 2004)
    • (Übersetzung) "Die verblüffendste und aufregendste Seite des Web"
  • "Surprisingly Good", (The Economist, June 10, 2004)
    • (Übersetzung) "Überraschend gut"
    • (Tradução) "Surpreendentemente boa"
  • "...Wikipedia is clearly one of the Internet's top five information tools. No other free online resource -- none -- can give you such a quick and useful briefing on practically any subject you can think of." [1], (Andy Ihnatko, Chicago Sun Times, July 20, 2004)
    • (Übersetzung) "...Wikipedia ist eindeutig eines der besten fünf Informationsmittel des Internet. Keine einzige andere Ressource kann dir eine solch schnelle und nützliche Einführung zu praktisch jedem denkbaren Thema geben."
  • "Here's where Wikipedia fits in. It used to be if you were a kid in a village in India or a village in northern Canada in the winter, maybe you could get to a place where they have a few books once in a while. Now, if you have a telephone, you can get a free encyclopedia. You have access to the world's knowledge. Knowing how to use that is a barrier. The divide increasingly is not so much between those who have and those who don't, but those who know how to use what they have and those who don't." (Howard Rheingold, MSNBC, August 11 2004)
  • "It's called Wikipedia and, like Google, it is one of the wonders of the world." (John Naughton, The Observer, September 12, 2004) [2]
    • (Übersetzung) "Es nennt sich Wikipedia, und ist, wie Google, eines der Wunder der Welt"
    • (Tradução) "Chama-se Wikipédia e assim como o Google, é uma das maravilhas do mundo."
  • Tim Berners-Lee calls WP “The Font of All Knowledge” Digital Divide Network interview, Weaving a Semantic Web, September 30, 2004.
    • (Tradução) Tim Berners-Lee chama a Wikipédia de "fonte de todo o conhecimento".
  • Extreme Blogging., Matt Rand for Forbes. Part of the Best of the web. Glowing report, and has this to say about Wikipedia:
    We asked Frederick Allen, Managing Editor of American Heritage [published by Forbes], to compare entries from Britannica Online and the Wikipedia. He was skeptical about the Wikipedia, but after throwing several queries at the two encyclopedias (Haydn, Millard Fillmore, warblers), he admitted, "it looks as if Wikipedia's gotten a lot better, more thorough and more accurate." Even the Wikipedia's James II of Britain article beat Britannica in size, reach and outside references. But Allen cautioned that there's "still the underlying problem that you can't be sure of the accuracy of what it presents, because of the fact that it's open to contributions from the public."
    • (Übersetzung) Wir haben Frederick Allen, Chefredakteur von American Heritage (herausgegeben von Forbes), gebeten, Einträge von Britannica Online und Wikipedia zu vergleichen. Er war skeptisch hinsichtlich Wikipedia, aber nachdem er mehrere Abfragen auf beiden Enzyklopädien (Haydn, Millard Fillmore, warblers) durchgeführt hatte, gab er zu, "es scheint als ob Wikipedia viel besser geworden ist, vollständiger und genauer." Sogar Wikipedias Artikel über James II. von Britannien hat die Britannica an Umfang, Breite und weiterführenden Verweisen übertroffen. Aber Allen mahnte zu Vorsicht, daß "immer noch das grundlegende Problem besteht, daß man sich, aufgrund der Tatsache, daß sie offen für Beiträge der Allgemeinheit ist, der Exaktheit dessen was sie anbietet nicht sicher sein kann"
    • Editors' Choice Award from Linux Journal August '05 for Best Community Site. Linux kernel developer Robert Love, calls it, "...probably the single greatest thing on earth."

See WP:Press coverage for full cites and more.

  • "Es el más ambicioso aporte de la red mundial de computadores." (Francis Pisani, 10 de enero 2004, El Diario de Hoy)
    • (Tr) "It's the most ambitious contribution to the World Wide Web" (Jan 10, 2004)
    • (Übersetzung) "Es ist der ehrgeizigste Beitrag zum World Wide Web"
    • (Traduction) "C'est la constribution la plus ambitieuse au Web"
    • (Tradução) "É a mais ambiciosa contribuição à rede."
  • "Escriba en un wiki y comparta sus conocimientos con el mundo" (15 de octubre de 2004, Clarin.com - Argentina)
    • (Tr) "Write in a wiki and share your knowledge with the world."
    • (Übersetzung) "Schreib in ein wiki, und teil dein Wissen mit der ganzen Welt"
    • (Traduzione) "Scrivi in un wiki é divida il tuo sapere con il mondo"
    • (Traduction) "Ecrire dans un wiki et partager ses connaissances avec le monde."
    • (Tradução) "Escreva em um wiki e compartilhe seus conhecimentos com o mundo."
  • "La enciclopedia viva" (23 de septiembre de 2004, El Navegante - España).
    • (Tr) "The living encyclopedia".
    • (Übersetzung) "Die lebende Enzyklopädie"
    • (Traduzione) "La enciclopedia che vive"
    • (Traduction) "C'est l'encyclopédie vivante"
    • (Tradução) "A enciclopédia viva."

See the complete list of press clippings here.

  • "Wikipedia, l'encyclopédie du XXIe siècle, est gratuite, ouverte à toute contribution et libre. Un projet à la fois modeste et titanesque au succès grandissant." (SVM, septembre 2004, SVM & 2)
    • (Translation) "Wikipedia, the encyclopedia of the 21st century, is free of charge, free of spirit, and open to all contributions. A project both modest and enormous in its growing success."
    • (Traducción) "Wikipedia, la enciclopedia del siglo XXI, es gratuita, abierta a todas las contribuciones y libre. Un proyecto a la vez modesto y titánico en su creciente éxito."
    • (Übersetzung) "Wikipedia, die Enzyklopädie des 21. Jahrhunderts, ist gratis, offen für alle Beiträge und Ansichten. Ein Projekt, das zugleich bescheiden und enorm ist, mit wachsendem Erfolg."
    • (Tradução) "Wikipédia, a enciclopédia do século XXI, é gratuita, aberta a qualquer contribuição e livre. Um projeto tanto modesto quanto gigantesco em seu crescente sucesso."
  • "Lain halnya dengan situs www.Wikipedia.org yang menyediakan banyak data yang bisa digali dalam bahasa Jawa, Sunda, dan tentu Indonesia." (Sinar Harapan, 24 Juni 2004)
  • "Hebatnya, Wikipedia juga menyediakan fasilitas membuat ensiklopedia dalam bahasa yang beragam. Selain Bahasa Inggris, yang paling besar dan populer, Wikipedia juga tersedia dalam Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Jawa dan Bahasa Sunda." (Detik i-Net, 2 September 2004)
  • "Dengan 2765 artikel dalam Bahasa Indonesia, Wikipedia ini bisa dimanfaatkan sebagai sumber informasi alternatif di internet. Apalagi, menambahkan informasi pada Wikipedia ini relatif mudah. Siapapun pengguna internet dapat melakukannya." (Detik i-Net, 2 September 2004)

See the complete list of press clippings here (in the Indonesian Wikipedia).

  • "Ao contrário das enciclopédias tradicionais, a Wikipédia muda a todo instante, captura tendências e modismos na velocidade em que surgem, registra feitos em tempo real, é viva, é ágil, é pop" (Revista Época, #401, January 23 2006).
    • (Translation) "Unlike traditional encyclopedias, Wikipedia changes all the time, captures tendencies and trends in real time, is live, is fast, is pop."
  • "Criou no meio digital o maior fenômeno editorial dos tempos modernos, a maior fonte de referência do mundo" (Revista Época, #401, January 23 2006).
    • (Translation) "It created in the digital environment the biggest editorial phenomenon of modern times, and the largest reference source in the world."
  • “如果网上有那么一个地方,让受过教育的人们分文不取地汇总他们的知识,有意识地建立一个庞大、有序但免费的数据库,涵盖的主题从风速梯度到麦鸡无所不包,这岂不妙哉?”(远东经济评论,2004年2月18日)
  • “当每一个普通人可以同时既是知识的阅读者又是书写者,我们传统的获取、处理和传播知识的方式势必发生改变,把持在知识精英手中的话语权也将受到削弱。生产和拥有知识将不再是某些人的专利,拥有电脑就将拥有知识。”(中国青年报,2004年03月16日)
  • 王忻,“网络百科,大家一起编”,《环球时报》,2005年02月21日[3]
“...借助网络,维基百科为人类创造了一种平民化的知识生产和消费方式,任何人都可以自由获取和贡献知识,这必将影响人类的知识生产和知识传播方式。”
  • 李翔,“维基百科:重新阐释开放与中立”,《经济观察报》,2005年3月8日。[4]
“...维基社群的活动都精确地反射着网络文化的多元性、开放性、平民化和非权威主义。在这里,每个参与者都有权发出自己的声音,但每个声音都不可能成为绝对的声音。这也是网络世界规则带给我们持续不断的冲击之一。”

See also

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