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Dalby, a linguist, pays particular attention to the French
Knowledge, where such issues as user anonymity, the risk of defamation, and the reliability of the text have often played out in quite similar ways to the English Knowledge. Tales of criticism from article subjects and the media are familiar in theme, if not content, from many of the larger Wikipedias. In
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don't trust
Knowledge". Dalby has a knack for making the processes of writing and discussing article content feel lively and interesting; he uses specific examples to show how the community approaches critical issues, without ever straying too far into project space or the abstractions of policy debate and metapedianism.
197:, is the closest examination of Knowledge communities in action yet published. This is both its strength and its weakness: the book offers Wikipedians the chance to learn much about how Knowledge works across the world, but does little to change our overall understanding of Knowledge's place in the world. Dalby (
264:, Andrew Lih looked at what sets several other Wikipedias apart from the English one; here Dalby does the converse, showing something of a shared culture across many of the larger Wikipedias and their publics—although without much specific analysis of that shared culture and its variations. On the whole,
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The next five chapters return to the mode of the first: a sort of guided tour through the good and the bad of
Knowledge, with points of interest grouped into chapters by theme: "Why they hate it"; "Why you use it"; "Why we love it" and "Chaos and beyond; or Why we love it, version 2.5"; and "Why you
201:), a contributor to English Knowledge since 2006 and an administrator on the Latin Knowledge, tells the story of the project through individual anecdotes and incidents, from the well-known to the trivial. The index of usernames is five-and-a-half columns of small print, from Adamsan to Zscout370.
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Many of the names and events Dalby explores will be familiar to long-time
Wikipedians, although many more will undoubtedly not be. Perhaps the most remarkable achievement of this book is its frequent explorations in other Wikipedias of issues that English Wikipedians are familiar with locally.
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In the final chapter, "Why you will trust
Knowledge", Dalby gives an optimistic perspective on Knowledge's increasing role as a news source, and the challenges of reliability and civic responsibility that will have to be overcome as Knowledge's influence spreads and displaces some traditional
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The first chapter, "Wikipedians at work", might have been the title for the whole book. It dives into
Knowledge culture by looking at how the community—individual editors who spearheaded specific articles—have responded to events such as earthquakes and elections. It attempts to document the
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information sources. Dalby credits
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The second chapter attempts to put
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I think this is a very well-written, thoughtful review. I'm very interested to read the book now. --
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produced different versions for different national audiences. Knowledge, in the words of former
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Review: Historian Andrew Dalby chronicles
Knowledge, its philosophy, people and headlines
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and
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Same here. It just placed pretty high on my reading list.
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The World and Knowledge: How We are Editing Reality
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437:putting together the next issue
386:add the page to your watchlist
277:Note: In early November 2009,
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182:The world, and Knowledge
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266:The World and Knowledge
239:Encyclopædia Britannica
70:The World and Knowledge
383:. To follow comments,
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355:Arbitration report
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