Wikipedia: The know-it-all Web site From CNN Technology
Correspondent Kristie Lu Stout (CNN) -- Are you well versed in
Russian history? Or familiar with the finer points of roller
hockey? An expert on any topic can find a home in "Wikipedia," a
know-it-all Web site created by thousands of plugged-in
volunteers. It's described as a free encyclopedia logging over
140,000 articles sent in by people from all over the world. What
is unique is that, not only is it free and easy to use, it also
allows users to go in and edit an entry. Wiki comes from the
Hawaiian term for "quick." And like a Web log, it's a fast and
easy way to publish online. But unlike a Web log, which
typically publishes a single voice, a Wiki is the collective
work of many writers. To counter pranksters, so-called
Wikipedians or Wikis may lock a document or delete the user.
Take Abbie Wong and Olivia Yuen for example, two Hong Kong
university students who took their love of the local shoreline
to Wikipedia. Wong posted a report on white dolphins