Chapter 4

The question is whether we want to invest our time in silliness

The holidays were over, and Ben Kovitz, a friend of Larry’s from his philosophy mailing lists in the mid-90s , who had recently moved to the area, met up with him on Tuesday January 2, 2001, to eat at an unprepossessing taco house at 1932 Balboa Avenue, just around the corner from the old Pacific Beach office. The stand had no name, just the words “MEXICAN FOOD” written on a window.

Frustrated by the lack of progress with Nupedia, Larry discovers a new piece of software called a wiki, which allows for rapid open development. He makes the bold decision to make the wiki open to anyone on the internet. The academic specialists are sceptical. They cannot see how a wiki, which does not identify the main author of an article, can reward them with the status and reputation necessary to their academic career.

Michael Kulikowski, a professor of medieval history, is absolutely opposed to using a wiki with Nupedia. “Gimmicks are no good substitute for the academic seriousness with which this whole project began”. Carl Anderson, Professor of Classical Studies, Michigan State University, is even more vocal. "The question seems to me not whether we are stodgy -- it is whether we want to invest our time in silliness”.

Jimbo and Larry separate the wiki from Nupedia, calling it ‘Wikipedia’, and the online encyclopedia is born.

See also

• Chapter 3
• Wikipedia through the Looking Glass
• Chapter 5