encyclopedia

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Search for 5K Nazi Sites Yields 8 Times as Many

Holocaust Museum's encyclopedia identifies 42.5K sites

(Newser) - Four hundred Jewish boys, including Noah Lederman's great-grandfather, were ordered to bury 12,000 Jews murdered by the Nazis while imprisoned at a forced labor camp in Poland during World War II. But until recently, the camp was "nonexistent" on paper. That's now changed with the creation...

What's It Take to Get a Wikipedia Page? Try $300

Two experts will create one for you (if you're 'Wiki worthy')

(Newser) - If you're important enough to warrant your own Wikipedia page, it should, in theory, just kind of appear on its own. But sometimes, giving it a $300 nudge doesn't hurt. Two Brooklyn entrepreneurs charge that much to craft an in-depth entry for you or your business on the...

Now Hot: Print Copies of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Only 1K sets of the print edition left, and they're sort of selling like hotcakes

(Newser) - It's inevitable: The thing no one would touch with a 10-foot pole becomes a hot commodity as soon as we're told it's going away. Encyclopaedia Britannica announced three weeks ago that it wouldn't be releasing another print edition, meaning the last one available would be the...

No One Wants to Edit Wikipedia These Days

Online encyclopedia struggling to find fresh blood, says Jimmy Wales

(Newser) - Wikipedia is in danger of wasting away as contributors jump ship and aren't replaced by new ones, founder Jimmy Wales says. "We are not replenishing our ranks," he tells the AP . "It is not a crisis, but I consider it to be important." Wales—who...

Wales: Wikipedia Changes Exaggerated

Only a few posts will be delayed for approval

(Newser) - Wikipedia's editorial changes aren't so sweeping after all, says co-founder Jimmy Wales. Reports that the open-source encyclopedia would restrict edits to entries on all living people are “just completely wrong," he tells Time. Instead, the site will adopt “flagged revision”—in which edits are checked by...

Wikipedia Adds Editor Review for Some Articles

(Newser) - After riding its users to popularity, Wikipedia is now moving to rein them in, the New York Times reports, by mandating editorial review for articles about living people. The feature, called “flagged revisions,” means an experienced editor will check updates to the free, user-generated online encyclopedia. The change...

Nazis Ran a Staggering 20K Concentration Camps

Decade-long study could change scholars' 'mental universe'

(Newser) - A year's work on a new Holocaust encyclopedia pointed researchers to some 15,000 concentration camps they hadn’t known about, a finding that could shift the public's perception of the Holocaust, the Washington Post reports. “Instead of thinking of main death camps, people are going to understand that...

Fake Deaths May Force Changes in Wikipedia

Site considers blocking users from direct edits

(Newser) - The greatly exaggerated deaths of Sens. Robert Byrd and Ted Kennedy last week on Wikipedia has sparked a push for a radical change in how the site's information is edited, Wired reports. The edits, traditionally open to all users, gave the false impression that both lawmakers had died. Founder Jimmy...

To Challenge Wiki, Britannica Will Let Users Edit

But edits still have to be vetted by encyclopedia's staff

(Newser) - The 241-year-old Encyclopedia Britannica is tired of being overshadowed on the web by Wikipedia, so it’s decided to start copying the competition’s defining feature: allowing users to edit and create content. Britannica will not be as laissez-faire as Wikipedia, the Sydney Morning Herald reports, as alterations to online...

Wikipedia Goes to Print —in German

Publisher plans single volume of 50K most-searched entries

(Newser) - Wikipedia will soon hit bookshelves, the AP reports: German giant Bertelsmann AG is publishing a condensed print edition of the user-generated encyclopedia. The One-Volume Wikipedia Encyclopedia will contain 50,000 of the most-searched-for German entries this year—and it could be the first in an annual series. “A yearbook...

Rowling Blasts Unauthorized Spinoff
Rowling Blasts Unauthorized Spinoff
Feb 29, 2008 2:15 PM CST

Rowling Blasts Unauthorized Spinoff

Fan's encyclopedia violates copyright, Hogwarts spirit: author

(Newser) - As part of her ongoing effort to keep a fan from publishing a Harry Potter encyclopedia, J.K. Rowling is suggesting that the book would violate the wizarding world's moral and ethical standards, reports the New York Daily News. “I am very frustrated that a former fan has tried...

Google Takes On Wikipedia
Google Takes On Wikipedia
Dec 14, 2007 4:40 PM CST

Google Takes On Wikipedia

Online encyclopedia is in beta testing

(Newser) - The company is developing a collaborative online encyclopedia, called the "knol project," that will allow contributors to earn money by including Google ads on their pages. Google won't edit content, but will give high search ranking to entries it considers high quality, reports CNET. Users will also be...

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