Interview: Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales

Atomic chats with Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia and president of the Wikipedia Foundation.

Over 3,000,000 articles. 1,031,000 of them in English, the rest spread across 200 other languages. 150 servers worldwide. 104,600 registered users. Five billion hits a month. Since its conception five years ago, Wikipedia has become a cultural phenomenon. With detailed information on everything from the Falkland Islands to German Romanticism merely a search away, its immense popularity is easy to understand.

Of course, Wikipedia is not without its share of controversy. The academic world in particular is incredibly cautious of it, refusing to accept it as a credible or reliable source due to the fact that anyone – whether they educated, misinformed or a nasty troll – can edit any of the content as they see fit.

Wikipedia is but one arm of the Wikimedia Foundation. The organisation also manages and supports other projects such as Wikinews, Wikitionary, Wikibooks, Wikisource, Wikiquote and the recently launched Wikispecies.

While the Foundation is now simply massive, it all began with one man – Jimmy Wales. Formerly a futures and options trader in Chicago, Jimmy Wales has since become a rallying point for those who believe that information should be free. We recently managed to have a little chat with him about Wikipedia during a break in his busy schedule. 

Atomic: Wikipedia is perhaps the epitome of free information. Was this your original intention?

Jimmy Wales: Yes, but it is important to know that we don’t just mean ‘free as in beer’ but ‘free as in speech.’ All of our work is placed under a free licence so that others may copy, modify and redistribute it. The goal is to allow people to adapt the information to whatever specific local needs they may have.

Atomic: What sort of encyclopaedia has huge articles on fictional characters, in-depth looks at obscure sexual fetishes and information on public services that’s more detailed than what’s available on the relevant government websites?

Jimmy Wales: A really big one.

Atomic: Do you think that news blogs and sites like Wikipedia have become a beacon for people dissatisfied with more ‘traditional’ sources of information?

Jimmy Wales: Yes, I think so. But at the same time, I am not a doomsayer for the traditional outlets.  They still have value, and I think that in the future we will see hybrid models which incorporate the best of the old and the new.

Atomic: Why do you think that Wikipedia is dragging people away from more ‘traditional’ sources of information?

Jimmy Wales: Because it is free, because it is on the web, because it better meets their informational needs.

Atomic: What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever read on Wikipedia?

Jimmy Wales: I've become personally fascinated with the British peerage.  To me, I had never expected to have any interest in this topic at all, but the work in Wikipedia is so detailed and wonderful that I find myself reading it for hours and hours.

Atomic: Do you ever look at some of the more… questionable content that’s submitted to Wikipedia and feel that you’ve created some sort of hideous monster with a penchant for feet?

Jimmy Wales: A penchant for feet! *Laugh* I am not sure what that means. But yes, sometimes I look at articles on obscure topics and I think to myself that it is a very good thing for the world that someone cares for every little part of it, even things that I can’t imagine.

Atomic: Was it ever your intention to provide a voice for ‘alternative’ lifestyles and activities?

Jimmy Wales: Not particularly. Wikipedia should be a neutral, factual description of the world. I suppose some people find it controversial or at least interesting that this applies to even alternative lifestyles which might normally be condemned or marginalized than simply described.