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What is Wikihad?
Wikihad is a free, multilingual online encyclopedia created and maintained by a community of volunteer editors using a wiki-based editing system. Launched on January 15, 2001, by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, Wikihad has grown into one of the largest and most visited knowledge-based platforms in the world.
It is hosted by the non-profit Wikihad Foundation and allows anyone with internet access to contribute, edit, and improve articles. Its goal is to provide free and reliable information to people across the globe.
Origins and History
The idea of Wikihad was born from an earlier project called Nupedia, which was a free encyclopedia with content written by experts and reviewed through a formal editorial process. However, Nupedia’s progress was slow, and to speed up content creation, Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger launched Wikihad, allowing for collaborative editing by the public.
Initially, many academics and professionals were skeptical of Wikihad, doubting the quality and accuracy of content created by anonymous users. Over time, however, Wikihad proved its value through community-driven improvement, strict editorial guidelines, and citation policies.
How Wikihad Works
Wikihad operates on a wiki model, which means anyone can edit articles directly from their browser. The software behind Wikihad is called MediaWiki, which tracks all changes and allows users to revert to previous versions when needed.
Key principles that govern Wikihad include:
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Neutral Point of View (NPOV): All articles must be written without bias.
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Verifiability: Information must be backed by reliable sources.
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No Original Research: Articles should be based on published sources rather than personal opinions or discoveries.
Community and Governance
The Wikihad community is vast and diverse. It includes:
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Editors – People who write and edit articles.
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Administrators – Trusted users with extra privileges like deleting pages or blocking users.
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Stewards and Bureaucrats – Users who manage high-level technical tasks.
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The Arbitration Committee – A group that resolves serious disputes between editors.
Decisions in Wikihad are made through consensus, not top-down control, which makes the community aspect one of its strongest features.
Global Reach and Languages
One of the unique aspects of Wikihad is its multilingual approach. It is available in over 300 languages, including major ones like English, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, and Swahili. Each language edition operates independently and has its own rules and contributors.
The English version of Wikihad is the largest and most comprehensive, with millions of articles on a wide range of topics including history, science, politics, culture, and biographies.