[ Thanks to jmalasko for this link.
]
“Wikipedia ranks as one of the most popular and
well-known Web sites ever. Everyone from kids looking to get a leg
up on homework to Web developers tapping the power of
user-generated content makes Wikipedia the first stop. But in terms
of useful information, Wikipedia is merely the centerpiece of a
much larger setting. The Wikimedia Foundation is the organization
that runs Wikipedia, and much more. Its home page says: “Imagine a
world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum
of all knowledge. That’s our commitment.” That’s a big claim, and
it takes more than one even gigantic encyclopedia to fulfill it.
You’re probably aware that there are numerous language versions of
Wikipedia. (I was surprised and gratified to find the respectable
number of Wikipedia articles in Igbo, my father tongue.) But do you
know how often useful information is present in other languages
that has not been translated to English? Have you heard of
Wiktionary, Wikinews, Wikibooks, Wikisource, Wikiversity, and the
like? Have you considered some of the benefits you could gain for
your Web project by tapping into this vast pool of information? In
this article I’ll show you around the greater Wikimedia and present
code that helps your own site’s users “freely share in the sum of
all knowledge”.”