English Wikipedia#WikiProjects and assessment

File:Screenshot of English Wikipedia article on Earth on 30 March 2021 (cropped).png, 18 January 2023]] File:WikipediaMainpageEngFirefox99x64Ubuntu2004date20220504.webm

The English Wikipedia surpassed six million articles on 23 January 2020.{{cite web|title=Wikipedia:Six million articles|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Six_million_articles|website=Wikipedia|publisher=Wikimedia Foundation|access-date=6 June 2020|archive-date=6 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606045258/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Six_million_articles|url-status=live}} In November 2022, the total volume of the compressed texts of its articles amounted to 20 gigabytes.See size of downloads at Wikipedia:Database download and a list of historical sizes [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_article_size_in_gigabytes.png#Summary here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401011914/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_article_size_in_gigabytes.png#Summary |date=1 April 2019 }}

The edition's one-billionth edit was made on 13 January 2021 by Ser Amantio di Nicolao (Steven Pruitt) who as of that date is the user with the highest number of edits on the English Wikipedia, at over four million. Currently, there are {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} articles created with {{NUMBEROFFILES}} files. The encyclopedia is home to {{Percentage|{{NUMBEROF|ARTICLES|en}}|{{NUMBEROF|ARTICLES|total}}|1}} of articles in all Wikipedias (down from more than 50% in 2003).{{#expr:{{NUMBEROF|articles|en}}-{{NUMBEROF|articles|ceb}}}} (about {{#expr:({{NUMBEROF|articles|en}}/{{NUMBEROF|articles|ceb}}*100)-100 round 0}}%) more than the next in rank, the Cebuano Wikipedia. See m:List of Wikipedias.{{cite web |author=Wikimedia Meta-Wiki |date=21 September 2008 |title=List of Wikipedias |url=http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Wikipedias&oldid=520778 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103140707/https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Wikipedias&oldid=520778 |archive-date=3 November 2015 |access-date=21 September 2008}} The English Wikipedia currently has {{NUMBEROFUSERS}} registered accounts of which {{NUMBEROFADMINS}} are administrators.

Editors of the English Wikipedia have pioneered some ideas as conventions, policies or features which were later adopted by Wikipedia editions in some of the other languages. These ideas include "featured articles",{{cite web | url=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Featured_articles&oldid=104207677 | title=Featured articles | author=English Wikipedia | date=30 January 2007 | access-date=30 January 2007 | archive-date=3 November 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103140709/https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Featured_articles&oldid=104207677 | url-status=live }} the neutral-point-of-view policy,{{cite web | url=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view&oldid=103033132 | title=Neutral point of view | author=English Wikipedia | date=25 January 2007 | access-date=30 January 2007 | archive-date=3 November 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103140710/https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view&oldid=103033132 | url-status=live }} navigation templates,{{cite web | url=http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Help:Template&oldid=520481 | title=Help:Template | author=Wikimedia Meta-Wiki | date=29 January 2007 | access-date=30 January 2007 | archive-date=3 November 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103140711/https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Help:Template&oldid=520481 | url-status=live }} the sorting of short "stub" articles into sub-categories,{{cite web | url=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:WikiProject_Stub_sorting&oldid=101829026 | title=WikiProject Stub sorting | author=English Wikipedia | date=19 January 2007 | access-date=30 January 2007 | archive-date=3 November 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103140713/https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:WikiProject_Stub_sorting&oldid=101829026 | url-status=live }} dispute resolution mechanisms such as mediation and arbitration,{{cite web | url=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Resolving_disputes&oldid=103577785 | title=Resolving disputes | author=English Wikipedia | date=27 January 2007 | access-date=30 January 2007 | archive-date=3 November 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103140713/https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Resolving_disputes&oldid=103577785 | url-status=live }} and weekly collaborations.{{cite web|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Article_Creation_and_Improvement_Drive&oldid=104243512|title=Article Creation and Improvement Drive|author=English Wikipedia|date=30 January 2007|access-date=30 January 2007|archive-date=3 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103140714/https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Article_Creation_and_Improvement_Drive&oldid=104243512|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Wikipedian}}

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File:Wikipedia editors by language over time.png

The English Wikipedia reached 4,000,000 registered user accounts on 1 April 2007,Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-04-02/News and notes. Retrieved 20 April 2007 over a year since the millionth Wikipedian registered an account in February 2006.Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2006-02-27/News and notes. Retrieved 20 April 2007

Over 1,100,000 volunteer editors have edited Wikipedia more than 10 times.{{cite web |url=http://stats.wikimedia.org/EN/TablesWikipediaEN.htm#wikipedians |title=Wikipedia Statistics – Tables – English |publisher=Stats.wikimedia.org |access-date=8 August 2013 |archive-date=2 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802202637/http://stats.wikimedia.org/EN/TablesWikipediaEN.htm#wikipedians |url-status=live }} Over 30,000 editors perform more than 5 edits per month, and over 3,000 perform more than 100 edits per month.{{cite web |url=http://stats.wikimedia.org/EN/TablesWikipediaEN.htm#activitylevels |title=Wikipedia Statistics – Tables – English |publisher=Stats.wikimedia.org |access-date=8 August 2013 |archive-date=2 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802202637/http://stats.wikimedia.org/EN/TablesWikipediaEN.htm#activitylevels |url-status=live }}

On 1 March 2014, The Economist, in an article titled "The Future of Wikipedia", cited a trend analysis concerning data published by the Wikimedia Foundation stating that "[t]he number of editors for the English-language version has fallen by a third in seven years."{{cite news |url = https://www.economist.com/news/international/21597959-popular-online-encyclopedia-must-work-out-what-next-wikipeaks |title = The future of Wikipedia: WikiPeaks? |newspaper = The Economist |date = 1 March 2014 |access-date = 11 March 2014 |archive-date = 8 April 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140408202455/http://www.economist.com/news/international/21597959-popular-online-encyclopedia-must-work-out-what-next-wikipeaks |url-status = live }} The attrition rate for active editors in English Wikipedia was cited by The Economist as substantially in contrast to statistics for Wikipedia in other languages (non-English Wikipedia). The Economist reported that the number of contributors with an average of five or more edits per month was relatively constant since 2008 for Wikipedia in other languages at approximately 42,000 editors within narrow seasonal variances of about 2,000 editors up or down. The number of active editors in English Wikipedia, by "sharp" comparison, was cited as peaking in 2007 at approximately 50,000 and dropping to 30,000 by the start of 2014.

The trend analysis published in The Economist presents Wikipedia in other languages (non-English Wikipedia) as successful in retaining their active editors on a renewable and sustained basis, with their numbers remaining relatively constant at approximately 42,000.

The English Wikipedia has the Arbitration Committee (also known as ArbCom) that consists of a panel of editors that imposes binding rulings with regard to disputes between other editors of the online encyclopedia.{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/democracy-for-knowalls/2006/11/30/1164777721624.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2 |title=Know-alls |access-date=15 June 2009 |last=Schiff |first=Stacy |author-link=Stacy Schiff |date=2 December 2006 |work=The Age |location=Australia |publisher=Fairfax Digital Network |archive-date=21 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421063529/http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/democracy-for-knowalls/2006/11/30/1164777721624.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2 |url-status=live }} It was created by Jimmy Wales on 4 December 2003 as an extension of the decision-making power he had formerly held as owner of the site.{{cite web |url=http://markmail.org/message/komcldyapats43xj#query:+page:1+mid:komcldyapats43xj+state:results |title=WikiEN-l Wikiquette committee appointments |access-date=9 June 2009 |last=Wales |first=Jimmy |date=4 December 2003 |work=Wikipedia |publisher=Wikimedia Foundation |archive-date=17 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917170533/https://markmail.org/message/komcldyapats43xj#query:+page:1+mid:komcldyapats43xj+state:results |url-status=live }}{{cite journal|title=Wikitruth Through Wikiorder |journal=Emory Law Journal|year=2010|first=David A.|last=Hoffman|author2=Salil Mehra |volume=59|issue=2010|ssrn=1354424}} When it was founded, the committee consisted of 12 arbitrators divided into three groups of four members each.{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2006/05/31/magazines/fortune/mysql_greatteams_fortune/index.htm |title=Secrets of Greatness: Great Teams |access-date=15 June 2009 |last=Hyatt |first=Josh |date=1 June 2006 |work=Fortune |archive-date=13 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413085723/http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/31/magazines/fortune/mysql_greatteams_fortune/index.htm |url-status=live }}

In 2022, for English Wikipedia, Americans accounted for about 40% of active editors, followed by British and Indian editors accounting for about 10% of each, and Canadian and Australian at about 5%.{{Cite web|title=Wikistats - Statistics For Wikimedia Projects|url=https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org/contributing/active-editors-by-country/normal%7Cmap%7Clast-month%7C(activity-level)~100..-edits%7Cmonthly|access-date=2022-01-28|website=stats.wikimedia.org|archive-date=11 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711051858/https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org/contributing/active-editors-by-country/normal%7Cmap%7Clast-month%7C(activity-level)~100..-edits%7Cmonthly|url-status=live}}

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The free online encyclopedia Wikipedia has been criticized since its creation in 2001. Most of the criticism has been directed toward its content, community of established volunteer users, process, and rules. Critics have questioned its factual reliability, the readability and organization of its articles, the lack of methodical fact-checking, and its political bias.

Concerns have also been raised about systemic bias along gender, racial, political, corporate, institutional, and national lines. Conflicts of interest arising from corporate campaigns to influence content have also been highlighted. Further concerns include the vandalism and partisanship facilitated by anonymous editing, clique behavior (from contributors as well as administrators and other top figures), social stratification between a guardian class and newer users, excessive rule-making, edit warring, and uneven policy application.

{{See also|Essjay controversy|Wikipedia Seigenthaler biography incident}}{{Criticism section|date=July 2023}}

A notable discussion within the English Wikipedia community concerns the preference for national variety of the English language, particularly American English and British English.{{cite web|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_%28spelling%29|title=Wikipedia:Manual of Style (spelling)|author=English Wikipedia|access-date=25 February 2006|archive-date=15 December 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051215000000/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_(spelling)|url-status=live}} Various suggestions have been made, ranging from standardizing a single form of English to creating separate versions of the English Wikipedia project.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} According to a style guideline, "the English Wikipedia has no general preference for a major national variety of the language" and "an article on a topic that has strong ties to a particular English-speaking nation uses the appropriate variety of English for that nation."{{cite web|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#National_varieties_of_English|title=Wikipedia:Manual of Style|author=English Wikipedia|access-date=10 October 2007|archive-date=25 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070925192618/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style#National_varieties_of_English|url-status=live}}

A 2013 study from Oxford University found that the most disputed articles on the English Wikipedia tend to address broader, global issues. In contrast, articles on other language Wikipedias often focus on regional issues. This pattern is attributed to the status of English as a global lingua franca, leading to contributions from many editors for whom English is a second language. The study identified the most disputed entries on the English Wikipedia as George W. Bush, anarchism, Muhammad, list of WWE personnel, global warming, circumcision, United States, Jesus, race and intelligence, and Christianity.{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/24/tech/web/controversial-wikipedia-pages/index.html?hpt=hp_t5 |title=Wiki wars: The 10 most controversial Wikipedia pages |newspaper=CNN |access-date=26 July 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412001130/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/24/tech/web/controversial-wikipedia-pages/index.html?hpt=hp_t5 |archive-date=12 April 2016 |date=24 July 2013 |last=Gross |first=Doug}}

2024 research determined that several groups of connected accounts had coordinated to promote Russian propaganda narratives and state-controlled media sources in articles, related to Russian-Ukrainian relations and Russia's war with Ukraine.{{Cite web |last=Boichak |first=Olga |date=2024-10-07 |title=How Russia Invaded Wikipedia |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/10/04/russia-ukraine-putin-wikipedia-ruwiki-disinformation/ |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Identifying Sock-Puppets on Wikipedia: A Semantic Clustering Approach |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/identifying-sock-puppets-on-wikipedia-a-semantic-clustering-approach/ |access-date=2024-10-05 |website=ISD |language=en-GB}}

There have been reports of threats of violence against high schools made on Wikipedia.{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-apr-29-me-wikipedia29-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | first=Molly | last=Hennessy-Fiske | title=Wikipedia threats went unchecked – Los Angeles Times | date=29 April 2008 | access-date=6 July 2011 | archive-date=11 August 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811023515/http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/29/local/me-wikipedia29 | url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://abc7.com/archive/6087243/ |title=Hacienda Heights school receives possible threat |website=abc7.com |publisher=Abclocal.go.com |date=18 April 2008 |access-date=8 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724192822/http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=6087243 |archive-date=24 July 2013 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Student arrested for violent threats on Wikipedia |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/04/wiki.html?cid=6a00d8341c630a53ef011571abd811970b |work=Los Angeles Times |date=29 April 2008 |access-date=19 January 2012 |archive-date=13 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113184610/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/04/wiki.html?cid=6a00d8341c630a53ef011571abd811970b |url-status=live }} In 2006, a 14-year-old was arrested for making a threat against Niles West High School on Wikipedia.{{cite news|url=http://www.pantagraph.com/news/article_baef01f3-e56f-52e1-b9af-e90eb83e811b.html|title=Teen charged after threat to school on Wikipedia|date=31 October 2006|agency=Associated Press|publisher=Pantagraph.com|access-date=26 January 2011|location=Bloomington, IL|archive-date=22 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622053546/http://www.pantagraph.com/news/article_baef01f3-e56f-52e1-b9af-e90eb83e811b.html|url-status=live}} In 2008, Glen A. Wilson High School was the subject of such a threat.

{{Main|WikiProject}}

{{redirect|Good articles on Wikipedia|the Wikipedia project page|Wikipedia:Good articles|selfref=true}}

A "WikiProject" is a group of contributors who want to work together as a team to improve Wikipedia. These groups may focus on a specific topic area (for example, women's history), a specific location or a specific kind of task (for example, checking newly created pages). As of August 2022, the English Wikipedia had over 2,000 WikiProjects, for which activity varied.{{cite web | url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject | title=Wikipedia: Wikiprojects | access-date=16 March 2015 | archive-date=19 March 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319083854/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject | url-status=live }}

In 2007, in preparation for producing a print version, the English Wikipedia introduced an assessment scale of the quality of articles.{{cite web|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Version_1.0_Editorial_Team/Assessment|title=Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Assessment|access-date=28 October 2007|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420190903/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Version_1.0_Editorial_Team/Assessment|url-status=live}} Articles are rated by WikiProjects. The range of quality classes begins with "Stub" (very short pages), followed by "Start", "C" and "B" (in increasing order of quality). Community peer review is needed for the article to enter one of the quality classes: either "good article", "A" or the highest, "featured article". Of the about 6.5 million articles and lists assessed as of April 2022, more than 6,000 (0.09%) are featured articles, and fewer than 4,000 (0.06%) are featured lists. One featured article per day, as selected by editors, appears on the main page of Wikipedia.{{cite web|url=http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2365/2182|title=Comparing featured article groups and revision patterns correlations in Wikipedia|publisher=First Monday|access-date=13 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506003339/http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2365/2182|archive-date=6 May 2012|url-status=dead}}{{cite journal|author1=Fernanda B. Viégas|author2=Martin Wattenberg|author3=Matthew M. McKeon|date=22 July 2007|title=The Hidden Order of Wikipedia|url=http://www.research.ibm.com/visual/papers/hidden_order_wikipedia.pdf|website=Visual Communication Lab, IBM Research|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031052814/http://www.research.ibm.com/visual/papers/hidden_order_wikipedia.pdf|archive-date=31 October 2007|access-date=30 October 2007}}

Researcher Giacomo Poderi found that articles tend to reach featured status via the intensive work of a few editors.Poderi, Giacomo, Wikipedia and the Featured Articles: How a Technological System Can Produce Best Quality Articles, Master thesis, University of Maastricht, October 2008. A 2010 study found unevenness in quality among featured articles and concluded that the community process is ineffective in assessing the quality of articles.{{cite journal|url=http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/2721/2482|title=Evaluating quality control of Wikipedia's featured articles|first=David|last=Lindsey|journal=First Monday|volume=15|issue=4|date=5 April 2010|access-date=29 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124044443/http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/2721/2482|archive-date=24 November 2012|url-status=dead}}

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Community-produced news publications include The Signpost.{{cite book|author1=Phoebe Ayers|author2=Charles Matthews|author3=Ben Yates|title=How Wikipedia Works: And how You Can be a Part of it|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lHdi1CEPLb4C&pg=PA345|year=2008|publisher=No Starch Press|isbn=978-1-59327-176-3|pages=345–|access-date=17 October 2016|archive-date=10 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010091112/https://books.google.com/books?id=lHdi1CEPLb4C&pg=PA345|url-status=live}} Other community news publications include the "WikiWorld" web comic, the Wikipedia Weekly podcast, and newsletters of specific WikiProjects like The Bugle from WikiProject Military History and the monthly newsletter from The Guild of Copy Editors. There are a number of publications from the Wikimedia Foundation and multilingual publications such as the Wikimedia Blog and This Month in Education.

• English Wikipedia blackout
• Deletionpedia

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lHdi1CEPLb4C&pg=PA345|title=How Wikipedia Works: And how You Can be a Part of it|last1=Ayers|first1=Phoebe|last2=Matthews|first2=Charles|last3=Yates|first3=Ben|publisher=No Starch Press|year=2008|isbn=978-1-59327-176-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/howwikipediawork00ayer_0/page/345 345–362]|chapter=12. Community and Communication §§ Communicating with Other Editors|ref={{sfnref|AyersMatthews|2008}}|url=https://archive.org/details/howwikipediawork00ayer_0/page/345}}
• {{Cite journal|last1=Hoffman|first1=David A.|last2=Mehra|first2=Salil|year=2010|title=Wikitruth Through Wikiorder|journal=Emory Law Journal|volume=59|issue=2010}}
• {{Cite journal|last=Hyatt|first=Josh|title=Secrets of Greatness: Great Teams|url=https://money.cnn.com/2006/05/31/magazines/fortune/mysql_greatteams_fortune/index.htm|journal=Fortune|volume=1 June 2006}}
• {{Cite book|title=The Wikipedia Revolution: How a Bunch of Nobodies Created the World's Greatest Encyclopedia|last=Lih|first=Andrew|publisher=Hyperion|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4013-0371-6|edition=First|location=New York City|author-link=Andrew Lih|url=https://archive.org/details/wikipediarevolut00liha}} (alkaline paper).

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• [https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/English_Wikipedia English Wikipedia] on Meta-Wiki

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