A description of my blog. http://www.my-site.com 2258049887911022279 The Final Frontier for Wikipedia 2007/02/#2258049887911022279 2007-02-16 In a bid to gain an edge in respectability over its stodgier rivals, Wikipedia today announced that it would be publishing a print edition of its online knowledgebase.

"We're elated to be able announce our plans to develop a hard copy Wikipedia," said Karen C. Nautkaaren of the non-profit Wikipedia Foundation.

The main obstacle to producing a print version of Wikipedia is its sheer volume. Wikipedia contains roughly twenty-eight times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica. The foundation plans to release it in 600 volumes, one per month over the next ten years. During that time, Wikipedia is expected to grow by roughly 700% and much of the existing information will become out of date.

The foundation announced an innovative plan for dealing with these problems. "We will release a revised edition of Wikipedia every three years," said Nautkaaren. "The second edition will overlap the first edition. When the first edition is nearly two thirds complete, we will release a third edition. The first volume of the fourth edition will become available two years after the last volume of the first edition is complete. Each edition will take roughly 50% longer than the previous edition to produce so, for example, we will begin 17 new editions while the fifth edition is still in production. I think. Anyway, make no mistake, this is a monumental undertaking."

Several frequent contributors to the user-created and maintained encyclopedia expressed a strong desire that Wikipedia retain its collaborative nature in the hard copy version. Todd Simmons, a 38 year old web developer in Pleasanton, California, summed up the feeling among the Wikipedia editor community.

"The other day I ran across an entry in Wikipedia that said that Blizzard had banned the Logitch G15 keyboard in Warcraft, when in fact all they did was ban a player who was clearly botting. He wasn't even using the G15. He was using the G11." Simmons shook his head. "Fortunately, I was able to correct the error. Imagine if that kind of misinformation were printed in thousands of copies of the article all over the world."

Wikipedia spokespersons said they would be taking corrections by mail and would be faxing daily corrections and updates to all subscribers for no additional charge.

Because of the uneven distribution of the expertise of its editor base, the Wikipedia hard copy edition will be broken down by subject area rather than organized alphabetically, like a typical encyclopedia.

"The organic nature of Wikipedia requires a unique organization system," Nautkaaren said.

So far, twelve volumes have been planned:

January 2008: Star Trek: Acamarians to Ferengi
February 2008: World History through the French Revolution
March 2008: Windows vs. Unix
April 2008: Quantum Physics
May 2008: Arts and Literature (non Sci-Fi)
June 2008: Star Wars: Alderaan to Calrissian
July 2008: Geek Humor
August 2008: Star Trek: Guls to Romulan Neutral Zone
September 2008: Britney Spears
October 2008: Eastern Philosophy, Kung Fu and The Matrix
November 2008: Video Games: Tips and Strategies
December 2008: Futurama



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