Wikipedia uses a clean, minimalistic user interface. All pages are presented in such a way that text and information are given the most attention, and appear confidently in the foreground. The use of colours and animations are nominal to reduce distractions, and are only used for the purpose of further presenting information in a more clear and concise manner.
Registered users are given an account which allows them to monitor certain articles which interest them. A member will be notified any time one of their favourite articles is edited. This presents a dual-feature; by watching a topic that you are interested in, you can be updated when new information comes to surface. And it also allows you to prevent your favourite pages from being vandalised or updated with incorrect information.
Articles are found through a very useful search bar located at the top of each page. This particular search engine is very powerful as it lists suggestions of articles you may be looking for as you type. For example, you may begin typing “World War” and the search engine would subsequently suggest “World War I” and “World War II”. Additionally, if you type a phrase which is not exactly the same as the title of the article, the engine has a large list of disambiguation’s which means you will likely come to the page you were searching for. As an example; if you search “World War One” you would still arrive at the correct page “World War I”.
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The table of contents presents all information in a clean and clear fashion. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II Accessed 30th July) |
The Wikipedia community contains a very large number of field experts. When a dispute occurs over the accuracy of a statement, the related expert will likely step in and provide guidance. It’s this endorsement that provides each page with its credibility, allowing readers to feel confident that the information present is accurate and up to date. Overall, the site features over three million English articles, and many more available in other languages.
Average people can also contribute to articles, through the use of the site’s referencing system. When a new piece of information is added, it must be accompanied by a verifiable source, which is automatically added to a list of footnotes at the bottom of the page. If anything is added without a reference, it is very likely to be removed. These references can come from news websites, or interviews in the case of biographies. Certain articles can also be blocked from being edited anonymously, requiring registration with the site. This allows moderators to protect articles from being vandalised, and also provides them with the ability to monitor incoming additions and modifications.
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| The Wikipedia page covering the Libyan uprising contains over 600 references from news sources. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2011_Libyan_civil_war_and_military_intervention Accessed 19h July 2011) |
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