Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia whose articles are written by volunteers from around the world. It operates on a wiki system, which means pages can be edited directly in a browser, with every change recorded in a retrievable history.

The project was launched in early 2001 and is now managed by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization. Wikipedia exists in many languages, each with its own community of editors and internal policies, though they share core principles.

Principles of content

The three main pillars of editing are: neutral point of view (articles must not take political or religious sides), verifiability (information must be based on published sources or scholarship), and no original research (Wikipedia does not publish previously unpublished conclusions). Articles must include citations; unsourced material is removed or flagged.

How the community works

Anyone can edit most pages, even without an account. Disagreements are resolved through article talk pages and consensus-building. There are administrative roles, such as administrators, who can protect pages or block users, but they do not have authority to alter the meaning of articles outside of community consensus.

Quality and challenges

Because articles are open to editing, quality varies: popular topics are generally more comprehensive than others. Common challenges include the possibility of vandalism, the risk that editors do not proportionally represent all populations in the world, and declining article numbers in minority languages. Wikipedia itself encourages readers to check original sources, particularly on important matters.

Somali Wikipedia

There is a Somali language version of Wikipedia, written by Somali volunteer editors. Compared to major languages like English, it has fewer articles and fewer editors, which affects the breadth and currency of its coverage.