Knowledge Sharing Infrastructures
Some key examples of online knowledge sharing infrastructures include the following:
- Wikipedia: An online, publicly editable encyclopaedia with hundreds of thousands of editors
- Slashdot: A popular technology-related forum, with articles and comments from readers. Slashdot subculture has become well known in Internet circles. Users accumulate a "karma score" and volunteer moderators are selected from those with high scores.
- Usenet: Established in 1980, as a "distributed Internet discussion system," it became the first medium for Internet communities. Volunteer moderators and votetakers contribute to the community.
- Etc. (the Web2.0 is also referred to as the writable web for indicating that many people participate to the creation of its content)
In the past important online knowledge sharing infrastructures included:
- AOL: The largest of the online service providers, with chat rooms which for years were voluntarily moderated by community leaders. It should be noted that rooms and most message boards are no longer moderated, however.
- The WELL: A pioneering online community established in 1985. The WELL's culture has been the subject of several books and articles. Many users voluntarily contribute to community building and maintenance (e.g., as conference hosts).
Read more about this topic: Online Participation
Famous quotes containing the words knowledge and/or sharing:
“Ambitious men spend their youth in rendering themselves worthy of patronage; it is their great mistake. While the foolish creatures are laying in stores of knowledge and energy, so that they shall not sink under the weight of responsible posts that recede from them, schemers come and go who are wealthy in words and destitute of ideas, astonish the ignorant, and creep into the confidence of those who have a little knowledge.”
—Honoré De Balzac (1799–1850)
“The meaning of the Street in all ways and at all times is the need for sharing life with others and the search for community.”
—Virginia Hamilton (b. 1936)