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The Miracle of Six Million Articles: How did the English Wikipedia become the world's most popular encyclopedia?
With the development of the digital age, access to knowledge is easier than ever, and English Wikipedia is one of the best. As the world's largest online encyclopedia, English Wikipedia has quickly attracted a large number of users since its establishment in 2001 due to its rich content and open editing features. As of December 2024, the number of Wikipedia articles has reached an astonishing 6,932,053, making it one of the most popular sources of knowledge in the world.
Since its inception, English Wikipedia has been committed to the democratization of knowledge, allowing users around the world to easily obtain and share information.
English Wikipedia was founded on January 15, 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, and is hosted by the American non-profit organization Wikimedia Foundation. Compared with other language versions, the English version has the largest editor group and content-about 48% of Wikipedia traffic comes from the English version, reflecting its far-reaching influence.
The platform is not only a treasure trove of information, but also a place where community is formed. As the number of user registrations continues to rise, English Wikipedia currently has more than 48,477,220 registered accounts, of which 848 are administrators. These volunteers work tirelessly to write and edit articles and actively maintain the quality of this knowledge platform.
Some of the ideas promoted by this editorial community, such as the neutral point of view policy and dispute resolution mechanisms, have been widely adopted in other language versions of Wikipedia.
However, the success of English Wikipedia has not been without flaws. After his praise, the issue of systemic bias—especially bias against women and ideological bias—has often become the focus of discussion. Despite this criticism, Wikipedia's reliability has improved significantly over time. Especially from the late 2010s to the early 2020s, English Wikipedia gradually became an important information verification platform.
Despite criticism, the English Wikipedia surprisingly has less cultural bias than other language versions, thanks to a wider community of editors. According to media reports, about 40% of registered users on English Wikipedia are from the United States, and other users from the United Kingdom, India and other countries each account for about 10%. Overall, the English Wikipedia not only has diverse content topics, but also presents a more open academic discussion area.
In terms of evaluating article quality, Wikipedia has also adopted some innovative methods, such as "featured article" selection and community peer review mechanisms. These are key steps to ensure knowledge accuracy.
This is not just a competition about content. Wikipedia's editorial community recognized the need to maintain the high quality of its articles and established the "WikiProject", a group of volunteers who collaborate to improve specific topics, such as women's history, science, etc., demonstrating the community's collaborative spirit and Sense of responsibility. Such collective creation not only improves the quality of articles, but also reflects people's emphasis on open knowledge.
It is worth noting that challenges facing the English Wikipedia still exist. According to the latest figures, the number of editors has shrunk by a third since 2007. Compared with other language versions, the loss of the English community is actually a phenomenon worthy of attention. Such trends prompt people to reflect on the future of Wikipedia and how to attract more volunteers to participate in the writing and review of knowledge.
It can be seen from the data that the popularity of Wikipedia is only increasing, but its development model and challenges are constantly evolving. In an era of rapid social change, how does Wikipedia adapt to such changes and maintain the richness and accuracy of its content? And will you be the next driver to participate in this knowledge revolution?
