Logo of Wikipedia

The English Wikipedia is the English language edition of the Wikipedia encyclopedia. Founded on 15 January 2001 and having a million articles by March 2006, it was the first edition of Wikipedia and remains the largest. As of 2005, approximately one-third of articles in all Wikipedias belongs to the English-language edition, this share having gradually declined from over half in 2003. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Wikipedia (IPA: , , or ) is an international Web-based cooperative free-content encyclopedia. ... Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon, 1902 An encyclopedia or encyclopaedia, also (rarely) encyclopædia,[1] is a comprehensive written compendium that contains information on all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge. ... January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

Pioneering edition

A screenshot of the English Wikipedia Main Page taken on April 8, 2006

The English Wikipedia was the first-established Wikipedia edition and has remained the largest Wikipedia edition. As such, it has pioneered many Wikipedia conventions and features that have been adopted by other Wikipedia editions. These include: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1382x1091, 356 KB) Direct questions to 68. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1382x1091, 356 KB) Direct questions to 68. ... Other languages FAQs | Table free Welcome to Wikipedia, the free-content encyclopedia that anyone can edit. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Featured Articles and Featured Images
• the neutral point of view policy
• navigation templates
• sorting of stubs into sub-categories
• dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation and arbitration
• WikiPortals
• Wikipedian associations
• Collaborations of the week

The majority of MediaWiki software programmers and of active participants of the Wikimedia Foundation are also English Wikipedia users. MediaWiki is a Wiki software package licensed under the GNU General Public License. ... The Wikimedia Foundation Inc. ...

Controversies

National stylistic conventions

Among the controversies specific to the English Wikipedia is a debate over which national variety of the English language is to be preferred, with the most common candidates being American English and British or International English.^[1] Many suggestions have been proposed by editors, ranging from standardizing upon a single form of English to forking the English Wikipedia project. The policy, however, is to prefer an appropriate form of English for articles of regional scope (e.g., Canadian English for subjects related to Canada) but otherwise to allow the use of any variety of English, as long as the variety of English is consistent throughout the text of an article.^[2] A related but distinct controversy arose over the use of Imperial units and the metric system. American English (AmE) is the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... -1... In software, a project fork or branch happens when a developer (or a group of them) takes code from a project and starts to develop independently of the rest. ... Canadian English (CaE) is a variety of English used in Canada. ... The Imperial units are an irregularly standardized system of units that have been used in the United Kingdom and its former colonies, including the Commonwealth countries. ... The International System of Units (symbol: SI) (for the French phrase Syst me International dUnit s) is the most widely used system of units. ...

Edit wars over content and the neutral point of view

As the largest Wikipedia edition, the English Wikipedia has been the site of some of the fiercest and most prolonged edit wars of any Wikipedia projects. Edit wars often take place over issues that many English-speaking users regard as controversial, such as:

• abortion
• Creationism
• the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• terrorism

However, prolonged edit wars have also taken place between users whose native languages are not English: among the most well-known early edit wars in the English Wikipedia took place between German and Polish users, centering on such articles as Gdańsk. The Creation of Light by Gustave Doré. In Abrahamic religions, creationism is the belief that humans, life, the Earth,and the universe have a miraculous origin in a supreme being or deitys supernatural intervention. ... Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip are at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ... Terrorism, as defined by the United States Department of Defense, is the calculated use of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or intimidate governments or societies in pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological. ... GdaÅ„sk (Polish pronunciation: (?); German: ; Kashubian: GduÅ„sk; Latin: Gedania; older English Dantzig also other languages) is the sixth-largest city in Poland, and also its principal seaport and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodship. ...

The English Wikipedia has been accused of systemic bias resulting from most of its editors being technologically-competent English-speaking people living in developed countries. Systemic bias is a neologism used to describe a bias which is endemic in or inherent to a system, especially a human system. ... A developed country is a country that has achieved (currently or historically) a high degree of industrialization, and which enjoys the higher standards of living which wealth and technology make possible. ...

Users and editors whose native language is not English

As the largest Wikipedia edition, and because the English language is such a widely-used language, the English Wikipedia draws many users and editors whose native language is not English. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Native Language Music, founded in 1996 by musicians Joe Sherbanee and Theo Bishop, is an independent adult contemporary record company based in Southern California that produces, markets, and distributes premium jazz, world, and new age music. ...

Users whose native language is not English may nevertheless seek information from the English Wikipedia rather than the Wikipedia of their native language simply because the English Wikipedia contains more information. This is especially often true for obscure topics which may not have articles at all in Wikipedia editions for other languages.

Sometimes, editors whose native language is not English have been criticized by editors whose native language is English for making edits with poor grammar or other language mistakes.

Usage of Encyclopædia Britannica

One advantage of the English Wikipedia over other versions is the public domain availability of the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition that has been used as a starting point for many articles in spite of claims of biased content and obsolete information on certain topics. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ...

Wikipedia Signpost

The English Wikipedia has a newspaper known as the Wikipedia Signpost, established to detail various events and happenings of the now very large site. It is a community-written and community-edited newspaper, covering events and stories related to the English Wikipedia. Major news from other Wikimedia Foundation projects is also included as occasion permits. It is published weekly on Mondays, being first published on 10 January 2005 by Wikipedia editor Michael Snow. ^[3] January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Simple English Wikipedia

The Simple English Wikipedia is an English edition of the Wikipedia encyclopedia, written in Basic English. ...

References

• ↑  Wikipedia:Manual of Style (spelling). Retrieved on February 25, 2006.
• ↑  Wikipedia:Manual of Style. Retrieved on February 25, 2006.
• ↑  Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/From the editor. Retrieved on February 25, 2006.

February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• English Wikipedia
• Google Search