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| '''Veropedia''' is a free, advertising-supported ] launched in late October 2007.<ref name="Carr 1">{{cite web |author=Nicholas Carr|url= http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2007/10/veropedia_and_t.php |title= Veropedia and the Misplaced Pages mine |accessdate= |
'''Veropedia''' is a free, advertising-supported ] launched in late October 2007.<ref name="Carr 1">{{cite web |author=Nicholas Carr|url= http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2007/10/veropedia_and_t.php |title= Veropedia and the Misplaced Pages mine |accessdate=2008-08-01|date=2007-10-29|}}</ref><ref name="Veropedia FAQ" /> | ||
| The site is based around collaboration within ], whereby Misplaced Pages articles that meet Veropedia's reliability criteria are chosen by its editors, ], and then a stable version of the article is kept on Veropedia. Any improvements required for articles to reach a standard suitable for Veropedia occur on Misplaced Pages itself. This model is intended to provide benefits to both projects with Misplaced Pages providing a large amount of free content suitable for potential improvement, and Veropedia contributors providing improvements and fact-checking within Misplaced Pages articles.<ref name="Carr 1" /><ref name="Veropedia FAQ">{{cite web|url= http://www.veropedia.com/docs/faq.en.php | title=FAQ| publisher=Veropedia| accessdate=2008-03-08}}</ref><ref name=Sparkes /> | The site is based around collaboration within ], whereby Misplaced Pages articles that meet Veropedia's reliability criteria are chosen by its editors, ], and then a stable version of the article is kept on Veropedia. Any improvements required for articles to reach a standard suitable for Veropedia occur on Misplaced Pages itself. This model is intended to provide benefits to both projects with Misplaced Pages providing a large amount of free content suitable for potential improvement, and Veropedia contributors providing improvements and fact-checking within Misplaced Pages articles.<ref name="Carr 1" /><ref name="Veropedia FAQ">{{cite web|url= http://www.veropedia.com/docs/faq.en.php | title=FAQ| publisher=Veropedia| accessdate=2008-03-08}}</ref><ref name=Sparkes /> | ||
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| ==History== | ==History== | ||
| Veropedia was started by a group of experienced Misplaced Pages editors, including founder Danny Wool, who had prior experience editing a variety of reference works including ''Encyclopedia of the Peoples of the World''<ref name="Toronto Star">{{cite news|author=Leslie Scrivener|title=It's called Veropedia. Its goal: To create something that students and teachers can rely on |url= http://www.thestar.com/News/article/273317 |publisher=The Toronto Star|date=November 4, 2007 |accessdate= |
Veropedia was started by a group of experienced Misplaced Pages editors, including founder Danny Wool, who had prior experience editing a variety of reference works including ''Encyclopedia of the Peoples of the World''<ref name="Toronto Star">{{cite news|author=Leslie Scrivener|title=It's called Veropedia. Its goal: To create something that students and teachers can rely on |url= http://www.thestar.com/News/article/273317 |publisher=The Toronto Star|date=November 4, 2007 |accessdate=2008-08-01}}</ref> and was an employee of the Wikimedia Foundation until Spring 2007.<ref name=Wired /> As of November 2007 roughly 100 Misplaced Pages editors are involved in the project, which is also seeking the help of academics who have worked on Misplaced Pages.<ref name="Toronto Star"/> | ||
| The FAQ also states that similar projects in languages other than English may be launched in the future, and attempts to distinguish Veropedia from "expert-driven" projects such as ]. | The FAQ also states that similar projects in languages other than English may be launched in the future, and attempts to distinguish Veropedia from "expert-driven" projects such as ]. | ||
| Line 36: | Line 36: | ||
| Veropedia is operated by Veropedia, Inc., a for-profit corporation registered in ],<ref name="company filing">{{cite web |url= | Veropedia is operated by Veropedia, Inc., a for-profit corporation registered in ],<ref name="company filing">{{cite web |url= | ||
| http://sunbiz.org/scripts/cordet.exe?action=DETFIL&inq_doc_number=P07000100571&inq_came_from=NAMFWD&cor_web_names_seq_number=0000&names_name_ind=N&names_cor_number=&names_name_seq=&names_name_ind=&names_comp_name=VEROPEDIA&names_filing_type= | http://sunbiz.org/scripts/cordet.exe?action=DETFIL&inq_doc_number=P07000100571&inq_came_from=NAMFWD&cor_web_names_seq_number=0000&names_name_ind=N&names_cor_number=&names_name_seq=&names_name_ind=&names_comp_name=VEROPEDIA&names_filing_type= | ||
| |title=Filing information for Veropedia with Florida|accessdate= |
|title=Filing information for Veropedia with Florida|accessdate=2008-08-01|publisher=Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations}}</ref><ref name=Sparkes>{{cite web |url= http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/135639/wikipedia-spinsoff-another-rival.html |title=Misplaced Pages spins-off another rival |accessdate=2008-08-01 |author=Matthew Sparkes |date=2007-11-06| publisher=PC Pro}}</ref> and founded by Daniel Wool,<ref>Daniel Wool is referred to as the founder and sole officer ] http://www.newser.com/story/11048/wikipedia-insiders-launch-competitors.html http://blog.edu-cyberpg.com/2007/11/05/What+Is+Veropedia.aspx ] with Veropedia described as "his startup"<sup>]</sup></ref> a former co-ordinator at the ], the parent organization of Misplaced Pages.<ref name=Wired>{{cite web|url= http://www.wired.com/techbiz/startups/news/2007/11/veropedia |title=Misplaced Pages's Inner Circle Keeps Producing Competitors|publisher=]|author= Dan Tynan| date=]| accessdate=2008-02-07}}</ref> | ||
| As required by its use of Misplaced Pages material, all Veropedia content is licensed under the ].<ref name="main page" /> | As required by its use of Misplaced Pages material, all Veropedia content is licensed under the ].<ref name="main page" /> | ||
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| ==Criticism and evaluation== | ==Criticism and evaluation== | ||
| Veropedia, newly founded in 2007 is still in its beta stage. It has an ] over 1.5 million<ref name='VeropediaAlexa'>{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/veropedia.com |title=veropedia.com - Traffic Details from Alexa |accessdate= |
Veropedia, newly founded in 2007 is still in its beta stage. It has an ] over 1.5 million<ref name='VeropediaAlexa'>{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/veropedia.com |title=veropedia.com - Traffic Details from Alexa |accessdate=2008-08-01 |publisher=]}}</ref> – indicating it is significantly less popular than ]<ref name='WikipediaAlexa'>{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/wikipedia.org |title=wikipedia.org - Traffic Details from Alexa |accessdate=2008-08-01 |publisher=]}}</ref>, ]<ref name='CitizendiumAlexa'>{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/citizendium.org |title=citizendium.org - Traffic Details from Alexa |accessdate=2008-08-01 |publisher=]}}</ref> and ].<ref name='ScholarAlexa'>{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/scholarpedia.org |title=scholarpedia.org - Traffic Details from Alexa |accessdate=2008-08-01 |publisher=]}}</ref> | ||
| ], a critic of ] in general and Misplaced Pages in particular, has criticized Veropedia as trying to "scrape" the "cream" of Misplaced Pages.<ref name="Carr 1"/> Carr has also stated that Veropedia has an unclear interface with clicks bouncing one back and forth between Misplaced Pages and Veropedia.<ref name="Carr 1"/> | ], a critic of ] in general and Misplaced Pages in particular, has criticized Veropedia as trying to "scrape" the "cream" of Misplaced Pages.<ref name="Carr 1"/> Carr has also stated that Veropedia has an unclear interface with clicks bouncing one back and forth between Misplaced Pages and Veropedia.<ref name="Carr 1"/> | ||
| Tim Blackmore, an associate professor at the Faculty of Information and Media Studies of the ], expressed scepticism toward the project, since there are already encyclopedias in existence where "content is checked and articles are reviewed". The main lure of the internet, according to him, is "free information" and Misplaced Pages has already emerged as a pioneer in open content information resources.<ref name=UWOgazette>{{cite web |url= http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/article.cfm?section=News&articleID=1116&month=11&day=07&year=2007 |title=Veropedia aims to be a legit wiki |accessdate= |
Tim Blackmore, an associate professor at the Faculty of Information and Media Studies of the ], expressed scepticism toward the project, since there are already encyclopedias in existence where "content is checked and articles are reviewed". The main lure of the internet, according to him, is "free information" and Misplaced Pages has already emerged as a pioneer in open content information resources.<ref name=UWOgazette>{{cite web |url= http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/article.cfm?section=News&articleID=1116&month=11&day=07&year=2007 |title=Veropedia aims to be a legit wiki |accessdate=2008-08-01 |author=Mike Hayes |date=2007-11-07| publisher=''The Gazette'', University of Western Ontario}}</ref> | ||
| A different evaluation in '']'' said Veropedia "seems more likely to succeed" than Citizendium, another recently founded online encyclopedia, because "it is less directly competitive" with Misplaced Pages. The story opined that both Veropedia and Citizendium "should in theory help improve the fairness and accuracy of available online information about many contentious topics although the academic bent to each raises questions over what, exactly, they will construe as fair when it comes to coverage of corporations and their actions.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22786828-5013038,00.html |title=Slowing down spin in wikis world|author=Stephen Ellis|publisher=''The Australian'' |date=2007-11-20| accessdate= |
A different evaluation in '']'' said Veropedia "seems more likely to succeed" than Citizendium, another recently founded online encyclopedia, because "it is less directly competitive" with Misplaced Pages. The story opined that both Veropedia and Citizendium "should in theory help improve the fairness and accuracy of available online information about many contentious topics although the academic bent to each raises questions over what, exactly, they will construe as fair when it comes to coverage of corporations and their actions.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22786828-5013038,00.html |title=Slowing down spin in wikis world|author=Stephen Ellis|publisher=''The Australian'' |date=2007-11-20| accessdate=2008-08-01}}</ref> | ||
| A story in '']'' discussed whether Veropedia (and ]) could avoid some of the same problems that Misplaced Pages has supposedly encountered: "Though office politics and internecine bickering abound at the Wikimedia Foundation – one former insider described the atmosphere as "MySpace meets 'As the World Turns' for geeks" – both Wool and Sanger deny that internal squabbles were why they started their own encyclopedias. Whether their ventures fall prey to the same turf wars, bureaucratic quagmires and academic catfights as the site that spawned them remains to be seen."<ref name=Wired /> | A story in '']'' discussed whether Veropedia (and ]) could avoid some of the same problems that Misplaced Pages has supposedly encountered: "Though office politics and internecine bickering abound at the Wikimedia Foundation – one former insider described the atmosphere as "MySpace meets 'As the World Turns' for geeks" – both Wool and Sanger deny that internal squabbles were why they started their own encyclopedias. Whether their ventures fall prey to the same turf wars, bureaucratic quagmires and academic catfights as the site that spawned them remains to be seen."<ref name=Wired /> | ||
| In a review of various Misplaced Pages alternatives, TechNewsWorld argued that Veropedia's estimation of 5000 articles was not credible, as "many of these articles are small and insignificant almanac-type entries that serve mainly as filler". It thus argued that like Citizendium, Veropedia avoided "the tough challenge of handling controversial and time-sensitive subjects" that Misplaced Pages had taken on. The article also stated that most Veropedia articles were identical to their Misplaced Pages counterpart. | In a review of various Misplaced Pages alternatives, TechNewsWorld argued that Veropedia's estimation of 5000 articles was not credible, as "many of these articles are small and insignificant almanac-type entries that serve mainly as filler". It thus argued that like Citizendium, Veropedia avoided "the tough challenge of handling controversial and time-sensitive subjects" that Misplaced Pages had taken on. The article also stated that most Veropedia articles were identical to their Misplaced Pages counterpart.<Ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Would-Be-Misplaced Pages-Replacements-Stumble-61728.html |title=Would-Be Misplaced Pages Replacements Stumble |publisher=TechNewsWorld |author=Mick O'Leary |date=2008-02-20 |accessdate=2008-02-23}}</ref>{{Dead link|date=August 2008}} | ||
| The '']'', a well known ] newspaper based in the town from which Danny Wool operates Veropedia, listed Danny Wool and Terry Foote, a Veropedia investor as "people to watch in 2008".<ref name="St. Petersburg Jan 2008"/> | The '']'', a well known ] newspaper based in the town from which Danny Wool operates Veropedia, listed Danny Wool and Terry Foote, a Veropedia investor as "people to watch in 2008".<ref name="St. Petersburg Jan 2008"/> | ||
| ==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
| *{{cite news |url= http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Would-Be-Misplaced Pages-Replacements-Stumble-61728.html |title=Would-Be Misplaced Pages Replacements Stumble |publisher=] |first=Mick |last=O'Leary |date=2008-02-20 |accessdate=2008-02-23 |quote=Veropedia and Citizendium are like 20-volume encyclopedia sets with 19 volumes missing. In other words, they are now almost useless.}} | *{{cite news |url= http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Would-Be-Misplaced Pages-Replacements-Stumble-61728.html |title=Would-Be Misplaced Pages Replacements Stumble |publisher=] |first=Mick |last=O'Leary |date=2008-02-20 |accessdate=2008-02-23 |quote=Veropedia and Citizendium are like 20-volume encyclopedia sets with 19 volumes missing. In other words, they are now almost useless.}}{{Dead link|date=August 2008}} | ||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| Line 82: | Line 82: | ||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| * | * | ||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 22:11, 1 August 2008
 December 2007 | |
| Type of site | Encyclopedia project |
|---|---|
| Available in | English, Dutch, Spanish |
| Founded | October 2007 |
| Headquarters | Florida, USA |
| Created by | Misplaced Pages editors |
| Founder(s) | Danny Wool |
| URL | http://en.veropedia.com |
| Advertising | AdBrite |
| Registration | Not required to read, required to contribute |
| Launched | Late October 2007 |
| Current status | Beta |
Veropedia is a free, advertising-supported Internet encyclopedia project launched in late October 2007.
The site is based around collaboration within Misplaced Pages, whereby Misplaced Pages articles that meet Veropedia's reliability criteria are chosen by its editors, scraped, and then a stable version of the article is kept on Veropedia. Any improvements required for articles to reach a standard suitable for Veropedia occur on Misplaced Pages itself. This model is intended to provide benefits to both projects with Misplaced Pages providing a large amount of free content suitable for potential improvement, and Veropedia contributors providing improvements and fact-checking within Misplaced Pages articles.
As of April 2008 the site, still in beta, has checked and imported over 5700 articles from the English Misplaced Pages into its public database. Although Veropedia intends to eventually support itself completely through advertising as of January 2008 the project is run mainly from personal savings, investments and loans of those involved in the project.
History
Veropedia was started by a group of experienced Misplaced Pages editors, including founder Danny Wool, who had prior experience editing a variety of reference works including Encyclopedia of the Peoples of the World and was an employee of the Wikimedia Foundation until Spring 2007. As of November 2007 roughly 100 Misplaced Pages editors are involved in the project, which is also seeking the help of academics who have worked on Misplaced Pages.
The FAQ also states that similar projects in languages other than English may be launched in the future, and attempts to distinguish Veropedia from "expert-driven" projects such as Citizendium.
Management and legal status
Veropedia is operated by Veropedia, Inc., a for-profit corporation registered in Florida, and founded by Daniel Wool, a former co-ordinator at the Wikimedia Foundation, the parent organization of Misplaced Pages.
As required by its use of Misplaced Pages material, all Veropedia content is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Contrast with Misplaced Pages
The Veropedia editorial community is far smaller than Misplaced Pages's, and is intended to be geared towards quality article writing, seeing involvement in Veropedia as a means to return to the roots of knowledge building by focusing upon articles rather than editorial difficulties. Other notable differences include:
- One-time uploads - Articles are uploaded when they reach a high quality and meet all current criteria. Articles are not edited once uploaded; instead at a future time, a further upload may be undertaken if the article on Misplaced Pages has since been improved. This is used to ensure reliable encyclopedic content, at the cost of far lower degree of responsiveness to topics where articles may change rapidly, or ad-hoc improvements. As a result, existing articles may be updated only after an extended period, or if there is a significant change to their content.
- Quality control system - Veropedia uses only experienced article editors, and also operates an automated system for uploading which checks proposed articles for a wide range of issues, and refuses to accept them if any are present. Independent human expert review of articles is planned for the final site, but not yet fully implemented.
- Editorship subject to approval - In contrast to Misplaced Pages, which allows almost anyone to edit, contributing to Veropedia is by approval (following a request) or invitation only.
- Smaller range of content - As a new project, Veropedia's content covers a smaller range than Misplaced Pages (some 5700 articles vs. 2.4 million). The focus is explicitly upon articles that are likely to be widely useful, and are improved to a high quality standard. As of December 2007, Veropedia's growth rate was around 300 articles per month.
- Prohibition of 'fair use' images - Another difference from the English Misplaced Pages is a number of tighter restrictions, for example, exclusion of fair use images and other content. The Veropedia FAQ states: "We have decided to... go back to the core principles of the project by focusing on free content. Only by insisting on free content can we revert the current trend of extending copyright and encourage people to release their content to the public."
- Funding - In contrast with Misplaced Pages's donation-based model, Veropedia's business model uses paid advertising. Danny Wool commented: "I was in charge of fundraising for Misplaced Pages, and I feel a lot more comfortable taking ads from Amazon than the donations of high school students."
Role of experts
In Veropedia's own words:
- "Each article will be given to recognized academics and experts to review. These experts can either provide their stamp of approval or make suggestions as to how the article can be improved further. In that way, users will know that the article is reliable."
- "Our material is written by Misplaced Pages contributors. The role of experts and academics will be to check it and, ideally, approve it. Their comments will be given back to our contributors to incorporate back into the articles to make them even better."
Criticism and evaluation
Veropedia, newly founded in 2007 is still in its beta stage. It has an Alexa traffic rank over 1.5 million – indicating it is significantly less popular than Misplaced Pages, Citizendium and Scholarpedia.
Nicholas Carr, a critic of Web 2.0 in general and Misplaced Pages in particular, has criticized Veropedia as trying to "scrape" the "cream" of Misplaced Pages. Carr has also stated that Veropedia has an unclear interface with clicks bouncing one back and forth between Misplaced Pages and Veropedia.
Tim Blackmore, an associate professor at the Faculty of Information and Media Studies of the University of Western Ontario, expressed scepticism toward the project, since there are already encyclopedias in existence where "content is checked and articles are reviewed". The main lure of the internet, according to him, is "free information" and Misplaced Pages has already emerged as a pioneer in open content information resources.
A different evaluation in The Australian said Veropedia "seems more likely to succeed" than Citizendium, another recently founded online encyclopedia, because "it is less directly competitive" with Misplaced Pages. The story opined that both Veropedia and Citizendium "should in theory help improve the fairness and accuracy of available online information about many contentious topics although the academic bent to each raises questions over what, exactly, they will construe as fair when it comes to coverage of corporations and their actions.
A story in Wired News discussed whether Veropedia (and Citizendium) could avoid some of the same problems that Misplaced Pages has supposedly encountered: "Though office politics and internecine bickering abound at the Wikimedia Foundation – one former insider described the atmosphere as "MySpace meets 'As the World Turns' for geeks" – both Wool and Sanger deny that internal squabbles were why they started their own encyclopedias. Whether their ventures fall prey to the same turf wars, bureaucratic quagmires and academic catfights as the site that spawned them remains to be seen."
In a review of various Misplaced Pages alternatives, TechNewsWorld argued that Veropedia's estimation of 5000 articles was not credible, as "many of these articles are small and insignificant almanac-type entries that serve mainly as filler". It thus argued that like Citizendium, Veropedia avoided "the tough challenge of handling controversial and time-sensitive subjects" that Misplaced Pages had taken on. The article also stated that most Veropedia articles were identical to their Misplaced Pages counterpart.
The St. Petersburg Times, a well known Florida newspaper based in the town from which Danny Wool operates Veropedia, listed Danny Wool and Terry Foote, a Veropedia investor as "people to watch in 2008".
Further reading
- O'Leary, Mick (2008-02-20). "Would-Be Misplaced Pages Replacements Stumble". TechNewsWorld. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
Veropedia and Citizendium are like 20-volume encyclopedia sets with 19 volumes missing. In other words, they are now almost useless.
See also
References
- veropedia.com - Site Information from Alexa
- ^ Nicholas Carr (2007-10-29). "Veropedia and the Misplaced Pages mine". Retrieved 2008-08-01.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "FAQ". Veropedia. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- ^ Matthew Sparkes (2007-11-06). "Misplaced Pages spins-off another rival". PC Pro. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- ^ "Veropedia main page". Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- "All Articles". Veropedia. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ "10 people to watch in 2008". St. Petersburg Times. 2008-01-06. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
- ^ Leslie Scrivener (November 4, 2007). "It's called Veropedia. Its goal: To create something that students and teachers can rely on". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- ^ Dan Tynan (2007-06-11). "Misplaced Pages's Inner Circle Keeps Producing Competitors". wired. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Filing information for Veropedia with Florida". Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- Daniel Wool is referred to as the founder and sole officer #_note-UWOgazette http://www.newser.com/story/11048/wikipedia-insiders-launch-competitors.html http://blog.edu-cyberpg.com/2007/11/05/What+Is+Veropedia.aspx #_note-company_filing with Veropedia described as "his startup"
- For example, Terry Foote, a long-standing Wikipedian who is also part of the Veropedia community, has been quoted as saying, "When we first signed on with Misplaced Pages our goal was to build a citadel of knowledge. But now it's more like ancient Rome, and the Visigoths and the Vandals are coming over the walls." See #_note-Wired
- based upon a total of 90 articles uploaded during the ten days 9 - 18 December 2007 http://en.veropedia.com/index.php?action=recentchanges
- "veropedia.com - Traffic Details from Alexa". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- "wikipedia.org - Traffic Details from Alexa". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- "citizendium.org - Traffic Details from Alexa". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- "scholarpedia.org - Traffic Details from Alexa". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- Mike Hayes (2007-11-07). "Veropedia aims to be a legit wiki". The Gazette, University of Western Ontario. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Stephen Ellis (2007-11-20). "Slowing down spin in wikis world". The Australian. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Mick O'Leary (2008-02-20). "Would-Be Misplaced Pages Replacements Stumble". TechNewsWorld. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
