Editing Wikipedia (section)

== Access to content ==
=== Content licensing ===
When the project was started in 2001, all text in Wikipedia was covered by the [[GNU Free Documentation License]] (GFDL), a [[copyleft]] license permitting the redistribution, creation of derivative works, and commercial use of content while authors retain copyright of their work.<ref name="WP copyright and commerciality 1">{{srlink|Wikipedia:Copyrights}}</ref> The GFDL was created for software manuals that come with [[free software]] programs licensed under the GPL. This made it a poor choice for a general reference work: for example, the GFDL requires the reprints of materials from Wikipedia to come with a full copy of the GFDL text. In December 2002, the [[Creative Commons license]] was released: it was specifically designed for creative works in general, not just for software manuals. The license gained popularity among bloggers and others distributing creative works on the Web. The Wikipedia project sought the switch to the Creative Commons.<ref name="WPF switch to CC">{{cite web |url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution:License_update |title = Resolution:License update |year = 2007 |first = Walter |last = Vermeir |publisher = Wikizine |access-date = December 4, 2007}}</ref> Because the two licenses, GFDL and Creative Commons, were incompatible, in November 2008, following the request of the project, the [[Free Software Foundation]] (FSF) released a new version of the GFDL designed specifically to allow Wikipedia to {{srlink|Wikipedia:Licensing update|relicense its content to CC BY-SA}} by August 1, 2009. (A new version of the GFDL automatically covers Wikipedia contents.) In April 2009, Wikipedia and its sister projects held a community-wide referendum which decided the switch in June 2009.<ref name="voteresult" /><ref name="MW licensing QA">{{cite web |url=https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Licensing_update/Questions_and_Answers |title = Licensing update/Questions and Answers |website = Wikimedia Meta |publisher = Wikimedia Foundation |access-date = February 15, 2009}}</ref><ref name="MW licensing timeline 1">{{cite web |url=https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Licensing_update/Timeline |title = Licensing_update/Timeline |website = Wikimedia Meta |publisher = Wikimedia Foundation |access-date = April 5, 2009}}</ref><ref name="WP blog license migration">{{cite web |url=https://diff.wikimedia.org/2009/05/21/wikimedia-community-approves-license-migration |title = Wikimedia community approves license migration |website = Wikimedia Foundation |access-date = May 21, 2009}}</ref>

The handling of media files (e.g. image files) varies across language editions. Some language editions, such as the English Wikipedia, include non-free image files under [[fair use]] doctrine, while the others have opted not to, in part because of the lack of fair use doctrines in their home countries (e.g. in [[copyright law of Japan|Japanese copyright law]]). Media files covered by [[free content]] licenses (e.g. [[Creative Commons]]' CC BY-SA) are shared across language editions via [[Wikimedia Commons]] repository, a project operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikipedia's accommodation of varying international copyright laws regarding images has led some to observe that its photographic coverage of topics lags behind the quality of the encyclopedic text.<ref name="NYT photos on WP">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/arts/20funny.html |title = Wikipedia May Be a Font of Facts, but It's a Desert for Photos |date = July 19, 2009 |last = Cohen |first = Noam |author-link=Noam Cohen |work = [[The New York Times]] |access-date = March 9, 2013}}</ref>

The Wikimedia Foundation is not a licensor of content, but merely a hosting service for the contributors (and licensors) of the Wikipedia. This position has been successfully defended in court.<ref name="reuters French defamation case">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSL0280486220071102 |title = Wikipedia cleared in French defamation case |work = Reuters |date = November 2, 2007 |access-date = November 2, 2007}}</ref><ref name="ars tech WP dumb suing case">{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080502-dumb-idea-suing-wikipedia-for-calling-you-dumb.html |title = Dumb idea: suing Wikipedia for calling you "dumb" |first = Nate |last = Anderson |website = Ars Technica |date = May 2, 2008 |access-date = May 4, 2008}}</ref>

=== {{anchor|Reusing Wikipedia's content}}Methods of access ===
Because Wikipedia content is distributed under an open license, anyone can reuse or re-distribute it at no charge. The content of Wikipedia has been published in many forms, both online and offline, outside the Wikipedia website.
* '''Websites''': Thousands of "[[mirror site]]s" exist that republish content from Wikipedia: two prominent ones, that also include content from other reference sources, are [[Reference.com]] and [[Answers.com]]. Another example is [[Wapedia]], which began to display Wikipedia content in a mobile-device-friendly format before Wikipedia itself did.
* '''Mobile apps''': A variety of mobile apps provide access to Wikipedia on [[mobile device|hand-held device]]s, including both [[Android (operating system)|Android]] and [[iOS]] devices (see [[Wikipedia App|Wikipedia apps]]). (see also [[#Mobile access|Mobile access]].)
* '''Search engines''': Some web [[search engine]]s make special use of Wikipedia content when displaying search results: examples include [[Microsoft Bing]] (via technology gained from [[Powerset (company)|Powerset]])<ref name="bing WP research and referencing" /> and [[DuckDuckGo]].
* '''Compact discs, DVDs''': Collections of Wikipedia articles have been published on [[optical disc]]s. An English version, 2006 Wikipedia CD Selection, contained about 2,000 articles.<ref name="wikipediaondvd authorized 1">[https://www.wikipediaondvd.com/ "Wikipedia on DVD"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603205800/https://www.wikipediaondvd.com/ |date=June 3, 2013}} Linterweb. Retrieved June 1, 2007. "Linterweb is authorized to make a commercial use of the Wikipedia trademark restricted to the selling of the Encyclopedia CDs and DVDs".</ref><ref name="wikipediaondvd commercially available 1">[https://www.wikipediaondvd.com/site.php?temp=buy "Wikipedia 0.5 Available on a CD-ROM"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130503073535/https://www.wikipediaondvd.com/site.php?temp=buy |date=May 3, 2013}} ''Wikipedia on DVD''. Linterweb. "The DVD or CD-ROM version 0.5 was commercially available for purchase." Retrieved June 1, 2007.</ref> The Polish-language version contains nearly 240,000 articles.<ref name="WM polish WP on dvd">{{cite web |url=https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Polska_Wikipedia_na_DVD_%28z_Helionem%29/en |title = Polish Wikipedia on DVD |access-date = December 26, 2008}}</ref> There are German- and Spanish-language versions as well.<ref name="WP german on dvd 1">{{cite web |url=https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:DVD |title = Wikipedia:DVD |access-date = December 26, 2008 |date = July 31, 2018}}</ref><ref name="python.org CDPedia Argentina 1">{{cite web |url=https://python.org.ar/pyar/Proyectos/CDPedia |title=CDPedia (Python Argentina) |access-date=July 7, 2011 |archive-date=July 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110702023520/http://python.org.ar/pyar/Proyectos/CDPedia |url-status=dead }}</ref> Also, "Wikipedia for Schools", the Wikipedia series of CDs / DVDs produced by Wikipedians and [[SOS Children's Villages UK|SOS Children]], is a free, hand-checked, non-commercial selection from Wikipedia targeted around the [[National Curriculum (UK)|UK National Curriculum]] and intended to be useful for much of the English-speaking world.<ref name="WP CD selection 1" /> The project is available online; an equivalent print encyclopedia would require roughly 20 volumes.
* '''Printed books''': There are efforts to put a select subset of Wikipedia's articles into printed book form.<ref name="WP into books 1">{{cite news |title = Wikipedia turned into book |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5549589/Wikipedia-turned-into-book.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090801202703/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5549589/Wikipedia-turned-into-book.html |work = The Daily Telegraph |location = London |date = June 16, 2009 |access-date = September 8, 2009 |archive-date = August 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |df = mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="WP schools selection 1">{{cite web |url=https://schools-wikipedia.org |title = Wikipedia Selection for Schools |access-date = July 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120804093730/https://schools-wikipedia.org/ |archive-date = August 4, 2012 |url-status=dead |df = mdy-all}}</ref> Since 2009, tens of thousands of [[print on demand|print-on-demand]] books that reproduced English, German, Russian and French Wikipedia articles have been produced by the American company [[Books LLC]] and by three [[Mauritius|Mauritian]] subsidiaries of the German publisher [[VDM Publishing|VDM]].<ref name="FAZ" />
* '''Semantic Web''': The website [[DBpedia]], begun in 2007, extracts data from the infoboxes and category declarations of the English-language Wikipedia. Wikimedia has created the [[Wikidata]] project with a similar objective of storing the basic facts from each page of Wikipedia and the other WMF wikis and make it available in a queriable [[Semantic Web|semantic]] format, [[Resource Description Framework|RDF]]. {{As of|2021|4|post=,}} it has 93,337,731 items.

Obtaining the full contents of Wikipedia for reuse presents challenges, since direct cloning via a [[web crawler]] is discouraged.<ref name="WP DB usage policy 1" /> Wikipedia publishes [[Wikipedia:Database download|"dumps"]] of its contents, but these are text-only; {{as of|2007|lc=y}} there was no dump available of Wikipedia's images.<ref name="WP image data dumps 1">[[meta:Data dumps#Downloading Images|Data dumps: Downloading Images]], [[Meta-Wiki]]</ref>  [[meta:Wikimedia Enterprise|Wikimedia Enterprise]] is a for-profit solution to this.

Several languages of Wikipedia also maintain a reference desk, where volunteers answer questions from the general public. According to a study by Pnina Shachaf in the ''[[Journal of Documentation]]'', the quality of the Wikipedia reference desk is comparable to a standard library [[reference desk]], with an accuracy of 55 percent.<ref name="slis WP reference desk 1">{{cite web |url=https://www.slis.indiana.edu/news/story.php?story_id=2064 |title = Wikipedia Reference Desk |access-date = September 9, 2014}}</ref>

==== Mobile access{{anchor|Wikipedia mobile access|Wikipedia mobile}} ====
{{see also|Help:Mobile access}}
[[File:Wikipedia on Mobile screenshot 2019.png|thumb|The mobile version of the English Wikipedia's main page, from August 3, 2019]]
Wikipedia's original medium was for users to read and edit content using any standard [[web browser]] through a fixed [[Internet access|Internet connection]]. Although Wikipedia content has been accessible through the [[mobile web]] since July 2013, ''The New York Times'' on February 9, 2014, quoted [[Erik Möller]], deputy director of the Wikimedia Foundation, stating that the transition of internet traffic from desktops to mobile devices was significant and a cause for concern and worry.<ref name="small screen" /> The article in ''The New York Times'' reported the comparison statistics for mobile edits stating that, "Only 20 percent of the readership of the English-language Wikipedia comes via mobile devices, a figure substantially lower than the percentage of mobile traffic for other media sites, many of which approach 50 percent. And the shift to mobile editing has lagged even more."<ref name="small screen" /> ''The New York Times'' reports that Möller has assigned "a team of 10 software developers focused on mobile", out of a total of approximately 200 employees working at the Wikimedia Foundation. One principal concern cited by ''The New York Times'' for the "worry" is for Wikipedia to effectively address attrition issues with the number of editors which the online encyclopedia attracts to edit and maintain its content in a mobile access environment.<ref name="small screen" />

''[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]'' reported in July 2014 that Google's Android mobile apps have dominated the largest share of global smartphone shipments for 2013 with 78.6% of market share over their next closest competitor in iOS with 15.2% of the market.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Stone |first1=Brad |date=June 27, 2014 |title=How Google's Android chief, Sundar Pichai, became the most powerful man in mobile |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-06-24/googles-sundar-pichai-king-of-android-master-of-mobile-profile |url-access=subscription |magazine=[[Bloomberg BusinessWeek]] |location=New York City |issue=June 30{{snd}}July 6, 2014 |pages=47–51}}</ref> At the time of the Tretikov appointment and her posted web interview with [[Sue Gardner]] in May 2014, Wikimedia representatives made a technical announcement concerning the number of mobile access systems in the market seeking access to Wikipedia. Directly after the posted web interview, the representatives stated that Wikimedia would be applying an all-inclusive approach to accommodate as many mobile access systems as possible in its efforts for expanding general mobile access, including BlackBerry and the Windows Phone system, making market share a secondary issue.<ref name="nytimes.com" /> The  Android app for Wikipedia was released on July 23, 2014, to generally positive reviews, scoring over four of a possible five in a poll of approximately 200,000 users downloading from Google.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.wikipedia&hl=en |title = Wikipedia – Android Apps on Google Play |website = Play.Google.com |access-date = August 21, 2014}}</ref> The version for iOS was released on April 3, 2013, to similar reviews.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wikipedia-mobile/id324715238?mt=8 |title = Wikipedia Mobile on the App Store on iTunes |website = iTunes.Apple.com |date = August 4, 2014 |access-date = August 21, 2014}}</ref> Later versions have also been released.

Access to Wikipedia from mobile phones was possible as early as 2004, through the [[Wireless Application Protocol]] (WAP), via the [[Wapedia]] service. In June 2007 Wikipedia launched en.mobile.wikipedia.org, an official website for wireless devices. In 2009 a newer mobile service was officially released,<ref name="WM mobile added 1">{{cite web |title = Wikimedia Mobile is Officially Launched |website = Wikimedia Technical Blog |url = https://techblog.wikimedia.org/2009/06/wikimedia-mobile-launch |date = June 30, 2009 |access-date = July 22, 2009 |archive-date = July 9, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090709213341/http://techblog.wikimedia.org/2009/06/wikimedia-mobile-launch/ |url-status = dead }}</ref> located at en.m.wikipedia.org, which caters to more advanced mobile devices such as the [[iPhone]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]]-based devices or [[WebOS]]-based devices. Several other methods of mobile access to Wikipedia have emerged. Many devices and applications optimize or enhance the display of Wikipedia content for mobile devices, while some also incorporate additional features such as use of Wikipedia [[metadata]], such as [[geographic data and information|geoinformation]].<ref name="androgeoid.com LPOI WP 1">{{cite web |url = https://androgeoid.com/2011/04/local-points-of-interest-in-wikipedia |title = Local Points Of Interest In Wikipedia |date = May 15, 2011 |access-date = May 15, 2011 |archive-date = June 1, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110601092809/http://androgeoid.com/2011/04/local-points-of-interest-in-wikipedia/ |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="ilounge iphone gems WP">{{cite web |url=https://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/15802 |title = iPhone Gems: Wikipedia Apps |date = November 30, 2008 |access-date = July 22, 2008}}</ref>

[[Wikipedia Zero]] was an initiative of the Wikimedia Foundation to expand the reach of the encyclopedia to the developing countries.<ref>{{cite web |last = Ellis |first = Justin |url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2013/01/wikipedia-plans-to-expand-mobile-access-around-the-globe-with-new-funding |title = Wikipedia plans to expand mobile access around the globe with new funding |publisher = Nieman Journalism Lab |website = NiemanLab |date = January 17, 2013 |access-date = April 22, 2013}}</ref> It was discontinued in February 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://diff.wikimedia.org/2018/02/16/partnerships-new-approach/|title=Building for the future of Wikimedia with a new approach to partnerships&nbsp;– Wikimedia Diff|website=[[Wikimedia Foundation]]|date=February 16, 2018|access-date=May 12, 2019}}</ref>

[[Andrew Lih]] and [[Andrew Brown (writer)|Andrew Brown]] both maintain editing Wikipedia with [[smartphone]]s is difficult and this discourages new potential contributors. The number of Wikipedia editors has been declining after several years and Tom Simonite of ''[[MIT Technology Review]]'' claims the bureaucratic structure and rules are a factor in this. Simonite alleges some [[Wikipedian]]s use the labyrinthine rules and guidelines to dominate others and those editors have a vested interest in keeping the [[status quo]].<ref name="Simonite-2013" /> Lih alleges there is a serious disagreement among existing contributors on how to resolve this. Lih fears for Wikipedia's long-term future while Brown fears problems with Wikipedia will remain and rival encyclopedias will not replace it.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/opinion/can-wikipedia-survive.html |title = Can Wikipedia Survive? |first = Andrew |last = Lih |date = June 20, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/25/wikipedia-editors-dying-breed-mobile-smartphone-technology-online-encyclopedia |title = Wikipedia editors are a dying breed. The reason? Mobile |first = Andrew |last = Brown |journal = The Guardian |date = June 25, 2015}}</ref>

=== Chinese access ===
Access to the [[Chinese Wikipedia]] [[Internet censorship in China|has been blocked]] in [[mainland China]] since May 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Skipper|first=Ben|date=7 December 2015|title=China's government has blocked Wikipedia in its entirety again|work=International Business Times UK|url=https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/chinas-government-has-blocked-wikipedia-its-entirety-again-1532138|url-status=live|access-date=2018-05-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503111142/https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/chinas-government-has-blocked-wikipedia-its-entirety-again-1532138|archive-date=3 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Fox-Brewster|first=Thomas|date=22 May 2015|title=Wikipedia Disturbed Over Fresh China Censorship|work=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2015/05/22/wikipedia-disturbed-over-fresh-china-censorship/#377839ae112a|url-status=live|access-date=2018-05-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503043534/https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2015/05/22/wikipedia-disturbed-over-fresh-china-censorship/#377839ae112a|archive-date=3 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=20 May 2015|title=Chinese Wikipedia Blocked by Great Firewall|url=https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/chinese-wikipedia-blocked-by-great-firewall/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504212406/https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2015/05/chinese-wikipedia-blocked-by-great-firewall/|archive-date=4 May 2017|access-date=4 May 2017|publisher=China Digital Times (CDT)}}</ref> This was done after Wikipedia started to use [[HTTPS]] encryption, which made selective censorship more difficult.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Wikimedia Foundation Turns On HTTPS By Default Across All Sites, Including Wikipedia|url=https://social.techcrunch.com/2015/06/12/the-wikimedia-foundation-turns-on-https-by-default-across-all-sites-including-wikipedia/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824001601/https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/12/the-wikimedia-foundation-turns-on-https-by-default-across-all-sites-including-wikipedia/|archive-date=24 August 2020|access-date=2020-06-03|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2017, [[Quartz (publication)|''Quartz'']] reported that the Chinese government had begun creating an unofficial version of Wikipedia. However, unlike Wikipedia, the website's contents would only be editable by scholars from state-owned Chinese institutions. The article stated it had been approved by the [[State Council of the People's Republic of China]] in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Huang|first=Echo|title=China is making an official version of Wikipedia|url=https://qz.com/973267/china-is-making-an-official-version-of-wikipedia/|access-date=2021-06-08|website=Quartz|language=en}}</ref>