Deletionpedia
Encyclopedia
Deletionpedia is a web site containing articles deleted from English Wikipedia
. Its articles preserve most Wikipedia article content and its version of each article includes a header with more information about the deletion such as whether a occurred, where the deletion discussion about the article can be found and which editor deleted the article.
and is no longer collecting deleted articles or being updated. Deletionpedia collected 63,424 articles, limited to those deleted from Wikipedia between February and September 2008. The site functioned as something of a "wikimorgue"; it had been automatically collecting articles deleted from Wikipedia.
In addition to categories preserved from Wikipedia, Deletionpedia has its own categories for articles, based upon the deletion criteria. Pages are organized by the month in which they were deleted, by the number of editors that had worked on a page and by the length of time the article had existed on Wikipedia - nearly 2000 pages were over 1000 days old before they were deleted.
Deletionpedia states that it avoids hosting deleted pages that are copyright violations, pages with serious libel problems, pages whose full revision history is still available on Wikipedia's sister sites, and pages which set out to offend others.
Articles preserved by Deletionpedia have been deleted from Wikipedia for a variety of reasons, from "being not notable," to (alleged) "manipulation by political and business interests." Since the site is read-only
, it seeks no donations, suggesting instead that supporters donate to mySociety
or to the Wikimedia Foundation
.
The site does not appear to be currently updating; a message appearing since April 5, 2008 states
cited it as a response to the culture clash that exists on Wikipedia between deletionists and inclusionists
. The Industry Standard
calls it “a fine research project for sociology students to study what groupthink
does when applied to a community-built compendium of knowledge.” Shortly thereafter, the Industry Standard again turned its attention to Deletionpedia, reporting that deletion of the article in Wikipedia about Deletionpedia was itself under discussion, suggesting that the article was not being considered for deletion based on “insignificance of the site” but rather “due to perceived criticism of Wikipedia itself.” Deletionpedia also made news at De Telegraaf
, the website for the largest daily morning Dutch language newspaper, and the The Inquirer
, a British
technology tabloid
website.
The site has been more fully explored by Ars Technica
in an article that not only describes aspects of the website but mentions the controversy over deleting the Wikipedia article on Deletionpedia.
English Wikipedia
The English Wikipedia is the English-language edition of the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Founded on 15 January 2001 and reaching three million articles by August 2009, it was the first edition of Wikipedia and remains the largest, with almost three times as many articles as the next...
. Its articles preserve most Wikipedia article content and its version of each article includes a header with more information about the deletion such as whether a occurred, where the deletion discussion about the article can be found and which editor deleted the article.
Function
The site is based on MediaWikiMediaWiki
MediaWiki is a popular free web-based wiki software application. Developed by the Wikimedia Foundation, it is used to run all of its projects, including Wikipedia, Wiktionary and Wikinews. Numerous other wikis around the world also use it to power their websites...
and is no longer collecting deleted articles or being updated. Deletionpedia collected 63,424 articles, limited to those deleted from Wikipedia between February and September 2008. The site functioned as something of a "wikimorgue"; it had been automatically collecting articles deleted from Wikipedia.
In addition to categories preserved from Wikipedia, Deletionpedia has its own categories for articles, based upon the deletion criteria. Pages are organized by the month in which they were deleted, by the number of editors that had worked on a page and by the length of time the article had existed on Wikipedia - nearly 2000 pages were over 1000 days old before they were deleted.
Deletionpedia states that it avoids hosting deleted pages that are copyright violations, pages with serious libel problems, pages whose full revision history is still available on Wikipedia's sister sites, and pages which set out to offend others.
Articles preserved by Deletionpedia have been deleted from Wikipedia for a variety of reasons, from "being not notable," to (alleged) "manipulation by political and business interests." Since the site is read-only
Read-only
In computing, read-only can mean:* Read-only memory , a type of storage media* Read-only access to files or directories in file system permissions...
, it seeks no donations, suggesting instead that supporters donate to mySociety
MySociety
mySociety is an e-democracy project of the UK-based registered charity named UK Citizens Online Democracy, that aims to build "socially focussed tools with offline impacts". It was founded by Tom Steinberg in September 2003, and started activity after receiving a £250,000 grant in September 2004...
or to the Wikimedia Foundation
Wikimedia Foundation
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is an American non-profit charitable organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, and organized under the laws of the state of Florida, where it was initially based...
.
The site does not appear to be currently updating; a message appearing since April 5, 2008 states
Reactions
The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
cited it as a response to the culture clash that exists on Wikipedia between deletionists and inclusionists
Deletionism and inclusionism in Wikipedia
Deletionism and inclusionism are opposing philosophies that largely developed and came to public notice within the context of the community of editors of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia...
. The Industry Standard
The Industry Standard
The Industry Standard is a news web site dedicated to technology business news, part of InfoWorld, a news web site covering technology in general...
calls it “a fine research project for sociology students to study what groupthink
Groupthink
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within groups of people. It is the mode of thinking that happens when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without...
does when applied to a community-built compendium of knowledge.” Shortly thereafter, the Industry Standard again turned its attention to Deletionpedia, reporting that deletion of the article in Wikipedia about Deletionpedia was itself under discussion, suggesting that the article was not being considered for deletion based on “insignificance of the site” but rather “due to perceived criticism of Wikipedia itself.” Deletionpedia also made news at De Telegraaf
De Telegraaf
De Telegraaf is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper, with a daily circulation of approximately . De Telegraaf is based in Amsterdam...
, the website for the largest daily morning Dutch language newspaper, and the The Inquirer
The Inquirer
The Inquirer is a British technology tabloid website founded by Mike Magee after his departure from The Register in 2001. In 2006 the site was acquired by Dutch publisher Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeverijen...
, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
technology tabloid
Tech Tabloid
A Tech tabloid is a type of news media that mainly concentrates on technology news: science, IT, semiconductors, telecoms and related issues, but also takes on a less formal and more humorous approach than traditional technology publications such as EE Times or EDN...
website.
The site has been more fully explored by Ars Technica
Ars Technica
Ars Technica is a technology news and information website created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, science, technology policy, and video games. Ars Technica is known for its features, long articles that go...
in an article that not only describes aspects of the website but mentions the controversy over deleting the Wikipedia article on Deletionpedia.
See also
- Reliability of WikipediaReliability of WikipediaThe reliability of Wikipedia , compared to other encyclopedias and more specialized sources, is assessed in many ways, including statistically, through comparative review, analysis of the historical patterns, and strengths and weaknesses inherent in the editing process unique to Wikipedia.Several...
- Deletionism and inclusionism in WikipediaDeletionism and inclusionism in WikipediaDeletionism and inclusionism are opposing philosophies that largely developed and came to public notice within the context of the community of editors of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia...
- Rejecta MathematicaRejecta MathematicaRejecta Mathematica is an online journal for publishing papers that have been rejected by other mathematics journals such as Annals of Mathematics. Each paper is accompanied by an open letter describing why the paper was rejected, how the topic has been developed since and why it is worthy of...