From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wikitravel
 |
| URL |
http://wikitravel.org/ |
| Type of site |
Wiki |
| Available language(s) |
21 languages[1] |
| Owner |
The copyright of the content is owned by the
individual authors. The domain, server, and trademarks are owned by
Internet
Brands. |
| Created by |
Evan Prodromou, Michele Ann Jenkins |
Wikitravel is a Web-based project "to create a free, complete,
up-to-date, and reliable worldwide travel guide."[2]
Launched in July 2003 by Evan Prodromou and Michele Ann Jenkins,
the Web site is based upon the wiki model, using the Creative Commons Attribution
ShareAlike license.[3] In
2006, Internet
Brands bought the trademark and servers and later introduced
advertising to the website.[4]
Wikitravel received a Webby Award for Best Travel Website in
2007.[5] That
same year, Wikitravel's founders began Wikitravel
Press, which publishes printed travel guides based on the
Web site's content. The first print guides were released on
February 1, 2008.[6]
Description
Using a wiki model, Wikitravel
is built through collaboration of Wikitravellers from
around the globe.[7][8]
Articles can cover any level of geographic specificity, from
continents to districts of a city. These are logically connected in
a hierarchy, by specifying that the location covered in one article
"is in" the larger location described by another. The project also
includes articles on travel-related topics, phrasebooks for
travelers, and suggested itineraries. Wikitravel is a multilingual
project available in 18 languages, with each language-specific
project developed independently. While the project uses the MediaWiki software, which
is also used by Wikipedia, Wikitravel is not a Wikimedia project; it was
begun and is operated independently.[9]
History
Wikitravel was started in July 2003 by Evan Prodromou and
Michele Ann Jenkins, inspired in part by Wikipedia. Unlike Wikipedia, it uses the Creative
Commons Attribution ShareAlike license rather than the GNU Free Documentation
License. Among other things, this more easily allows
individuals, tourism agencies, etc., to make free reprints of
individual pages. Although both Wikipedia and Wikitravel are free-content resources, because of the
incompatible licenses, content cannot be freely copied between
them. Wikitravel's different objectives have also resulted in
different policies and content guidelines. For example, Wikitravel
eschews a neutral-point-of-view requirement, as it is written from
the point of view of a traveler and, instead, encourages editors to
"be fair."[10]
On April 20, 2006, Wikitravel announced that it and World66 — another open-content
travel guide — had been acquired by Internet Brands, a publicly traded
corporation.[11] The
new owner hired Prodromou and Jenkins to continue managing
Wikitravel as a consensus-based project. They explained that
Internet Brands' long-term plan was for Wikitravel to continue to
focus on collaborative, objective guides, while World66 would focus
more on personal experiences and reviews. As a result, many authors
of the German language community decided to fork the German Wikitravel, which was
released on December 10, 2006, as Wikivoyage. The German language Wikitravel
remains active. On April 1, 2008, Internet Brands added Google advertising to
Wikitravel, with an opt-out procedure for registered users.
On May 1, 2007, Wikitravel received the Webby Award for Best
Travel Website. On June 16, 2008, Wikitravel was named one of the
"50 Best Websites of 2008" by Time Magazine.[12]
On August 3, 2007, Prodromou, Jenkins, and long-time contributor
Jani Patokallio started Wikitravel Press, a
company that produces and sells print guidebooks based on material
contributed to Wikitravel. The first Wikitravel Press guides,
Chicago and Singapore, were officially launched
on February 1, 2008.[13]
Content in these guidebooks is available under the same Creative
Commons Attribution ShareAlike license that Wikitravel material is
licensed under.
On January 1, 2010, the content of Wikitravel was migrated to
the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 license.
Milestones
- December 23, 2005 — 10,000 articles across all versions.
- June 11, 2006 — 10,000 articles on the English version.
- September 29, 2006 — 20,000 articles across all versions.
- May 1, 2007 — Wikitravel wins Webby Award for Best Travel Website.
- February 1, 2008 — publication of first printed Wikitravel
Press guides.
- June 16, 2008 - Time Magazine names Wikitravel one of the "50
Best Websites of 2008."
- November 22, 2008 — 20,000 articles on the English
version.
- August 21, 2009 — 50,000 articles and 50,000 users across all
versions.
References
External
links
