Nupedia

Nupedia

Nupedia_logos

Nupedia_article_example

Nupedia was an English-language web-based encyclopedia whose articles were written by experts and reviewed under a formal process. It was founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger and is known as the predecessor to Wikipedia.

History

Nupedia was founded in March 2000 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. The project was initially funded by Bomis, a web portal company. Nupedia's goal was to create a free online encyclopedia with articles written by experts and reviewed through a rigorous editorial process.

Editorial Process

Nupedia's editorial process was designed to ensure high-quality content. Articles were written by subject matter experts and went through a seven-step review process before being published. This process included:

1. Assignment of a topic to a qualified expert
2. Initial review by a lead reviewer
3. Open review by the Nupedia community
4. Copyediting for grammar and style
5. Final approval by the lead reviewer
6. Formatting for publication
7. Publication on the Nupedia website

Decline and Legacy

Despite its ambitious goals, Nupedia struggled to attract contributors and produce content at a rapid pace. By the end of 2000, only a few articles had been published. In January 2001, Wikipedia was launched as a complementary project to Nupedia, allowing anyone to contribute and edit articles. Wikipedia's open editing model quickly proved to be more successful, leading to the decline of Nupedia. Nupedia was eventually discontinued in September 2003.

Related Projects

• Wikipedia
• Bomis
• Jimmy Wales
• Larry Sanger

See Also

• History of Wikipedia
• Free content
• Online encyclopedia

External Links

• [Nupedia Archive]