Deletionpedia
 | |
Type of site | Internet encyclopedia project |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| URL | http://deletionpedia.dbatley.com/ |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | None |
Deletionpedia is a web site containing articles deleted from English Wikipedia. Its articles preserve most Wikipedia article content, such as infoboxes, references and categories. Image captions and image references are included but images and their specified framing are not presented. Deletionpedia's version of each article includes a header with more information about the deletion, such as (if applicable) whether a speedy deletion occurred, where on Wikipedia the delete discussion about the article can be found, and who did the deletion.
Function
The site is based on MediaWiki, though updates have been automated. Deletionpedia has collected about 64,000 articles, currently[needs update] limited to those deleted from Wikipedia between February and September 2008.[1] The site functions as something of a "wikimorgue", automatically collecting articles deleted from wikipedia.[2]
In addition to categories in from Wikipedia, Deletionpedia adds its own categories to articles, based on various deletion criteria. It organizes pages by what month they were deleted, by how many editors had worked on a page, by how long they had lasted on Wikipedia (thousands of pages lasted over 1000 days before they were deleted[3]), and pages which are lists, among other criteria.
Deletionpedia states that it avoids hosting deleted pages that are copyright violations, pages with serious libel problems, pages whose full revision history is still available on Wikipedia's sister sites, and pages which set out to offend others.[4] However, it also claims that it intends to make the entire process automated.
Some of the articles preserved by Deletionpedia were deleted from Wikipedia for being uninteresting, while others were the result of manipulation by political and business interests.[5] Unlike Wikipedia, the site seeks no donations, suggesting instead that supporters donate to mySociety or to the Wikimedia Foundation.[6]
Reactions
The Wall Street Journal cited it as a response to the culture clash that exists on Wikipedia between deletionists and inclusionists.[7] The Industry Standard calls it a “a fine research project for sociology students to study what groupthink does when applied to a community-built compendium of knowledge.”[8] The Industry Standard article in September 2008 made the website a victim of the Slashdot effect.[9] Shortly thereafter, the Industry Standard again turned its attention to Deletionpedia, reporting that deletion of the article in Wikipedia about Deletionpedia was itself under discussion, suggesting that the article was not being considered for deletion based on “insignificance of the site” but rather “due to perceived criticism of Wikipedia itself.”[10] Deletionpedia also made news at De Telegraaf, the website for the largest daily morning Dutch language newspaper,[11] and the The Inquirer, a British technology tabloid website.[12]
The site has been more fully explored by Ars Technica[13] in an article that not only describes aspects of the website but mentions the controversy over deleting the Wikipedia article on Deletionpedia.
Related proposals
Deletionpedia is a third party example of what CIO magazine called a "Wikimorgue"; in September 2007 they called such a site a "small but powerful check on Wikipedia's editors, who might think twice about deleting articles if they knew that by routine practice and internal policy, Wikipedia preserved all deleted pages, including their histories and discussions."[14]
In April 2008, Nicholson Baker proposed the creation of the similarly-named “Deletopedia” because:[15]
- “a lot of good work — verifiable, informative, brain-leapingly strange — is being cast out of this paperless, infinitely expandable accordion folder by people who have a narrow notion of what sort of curiosity an online encyclopedia should be able to satisfy.”
See also
References
- ^ Category:Deletionpedia:Pages by deletion date, from the Deletionpedia website
- ^ Schneider, K.G. (September 26, 2007). "Wikipedia's Awkward Adolescence". CIO Magazine. International Data Group(IDG). Retrieved 2008-09-27.
- ^ Deletionpedia:Pages on Wikipedia for 1000 or more days, from the Deletionpedia website
- ^ Deletionpedia:Archive, from the Deletionpedia website
- ^ Henning Steier (19 Sep 2008), Friedhof der Wikipedia-Artikel, 20 minuten
- ^ Deletionpedia:Donate, from the Deletionpedia website
- ^ Wikipedians Leave Cyberspace, Meet in Egypt, by James Gleick. The Wall Street Journal, August 8, 2008
- ^ Deletionpedia: Where Wikipedia entries go to die, by Cyndy Aleo-Carreira. The Industry Standard, posted September 17, 2008.
- ^ Discussion about deletionpedia at Slashdot
- ^ “A Catch 22 for Wikipedia: Should the Deletionpedia entry be deleted?” by Cyndy Aleo-Carreira. The Industry Standard, posted Sept. 19, 2008.
- ^ Rustplaats voor afgedankte Wiki-bijdragen Template:Nl, a September 2008 article from De Telegraaf
- ^ Deletionpedia: Gelöschte Wikipedia-Artikel zum Nachschlagen Template:De, a 18 September 2008 article from The Inquirer.
- ^ Deletionpedia: where entries too trivial for Wikipedia live on an article from Ars Technica posted Sept. 22, 2008
- ^ Wikipedia's Awkward Adolescence, from CIO magazine
- ^ How I fell in love with Wikipedia, an April 2008 article in The Guardian, written by Nicholson Baker
