My role in Wikipedia (links)

To the best of my knowledge, I was first described as co-founder of Wikipedia back in September 2001 by The New York Times.  That was also my description in Wikipedia's own press releases from 2002 until 2004.  With my increasing distance from the project, and as it grew in the public eye, however, some of those associated with the project have found it convenient to downplay and even deny my crucial, formative involvement.  In fact, in the early years of the project, my role was not in dispute at all; Jimmy Wales did not start downplaying my involvement in the project until 2004, and he didn't start denying that I am co-founder until 2005 or 2006--in other words, just when Wikipedia began to enter the public eye.  The following links have come to light, and they should dispel much of the confusion.

  • January 10, 2001 Nupedia-L post by me titled, "Let's make a wiki": "As to Nupedia's use of a wiki, this is the ULTIMATE 'open' and simple format for developing content.  We have occasionally bandied about ideas for simpler, more open projects to either replace or supplement Nupedia.  It seems to me wikis can be implemented practically instantly, need very little maintenance, and in general are very low-risk."
  • January 15, 2001 Nupedia-L post by me titled "Wikipedia is up!": "Humor me.  Go there and add a little article..."
  • March 2001: the Wikipedia FAQ said "The idea of a Nupedia-sponsored wiki originated out of a conversation Larry Sanger had with BenKovitz on the evening of January 2."
  • March 2001: on my user page, I described myself as "Editor-in-Chief of Nupedia and (with Jimbo Wales) instigator of Wikipedia."  I never called myself "editor" of Wikipedia.  At the same time, the Wikipedia article gave no one in particular credit.
  • July 2001: Jimmy Wales submitted an article of mine to Slashdot, and there described me as "editor-in-chief of the Nupedia and Wikipedia sister projects."
  • October 2001: Jimmy wrote a mailing list post, in which he said, "After a year or so of working on Nupedia, Larry had the idea to use Wiki software for a separate project specifically for people like you (and me!)..."
  • Fall 2001: on Meatball Wiki, I humorously (in response to criticism of my role in the project) called myself "Dictator for Life."  Others, there, called me Wikipedia's "chief instigator."
  • Early press coverage:
    • September 2001 New York Times: "Sanger...founded Wikipedia with Mr. Wales"
    • September 2001 Technology Review called Wikipedia "the brainchild of Wales and its full-time editor Larry Sanger."
    • 2002 press coverage
    • January 2003 Wired News: Jimmy and I were both called "co-founder" and I was, in addition, "former chief organizer"
    • January 2003 The Guardian: "its founders, internet entrepreneur Jimmy Wales and philosopher Larry Sanger"
  • Wikipedia's press releases:
    • January 2002 First Wikipedia press release: "The founders of Wikipedia are Internet entrepreneur Jimmy Wales and philosopher Larry Sanger. Wales has supplied the financial backing and other support for the project, and Sanger...has led the project."  This press release was written on a wiki page and was approved and posted by Jimmy Wales.
    • January 2003 Second Wikipedia press release: "The project was founded by Internet entrepreneur Jimmy Wales and philosopher Larry Sanger."  This press release was written and posted after I left the project.
    • February 2004, First Wikimedia Foundation press release: "The Wikipedia project was founded in January 2001 by Internet entrepreneur Jimmy Wales and philosopher Larry Sanger. ... Sanger led the Wikipedia project during its first year, as a full-time paid editor. Since then it has operated mostly on consensus, using policies refined over time by its contributors."  Again, this press release was written and posted after I left the project.
  • Early versions of Wikipedia's own articles were all clear on the point:
  • March 2002: someone calling him/herself "AnonymousDonor" wrote on Meatball Wiki (near bottom of page), "Larry Sanger resigned on March 1st, 2002. He won't even stay as a volunteer. The project now no longer has a leader (or, put another way, everyone is a leader now)."  To this, long-time Wikipedia contributor Stephen Gilbert replied, "That's not quite true. Jimmy Wales, WikiPedia's co-founder, has stepped into Larry's shoes, although he won't be able to lead as a full-time job."
  • March 2002: Erik Moeller, now a WikiMedia Board member, wrote in Kuro5hin, "Larry Sanger played a crucial role in the first year of Wikipedia and has helped establish a shared philosophy for its users. ... This may well be the right time to abandon the concept of 'editorship' altogether...  Now that Larry Sanger is gone, Wikipedia's owners will have to watch whether the project manages the transition to effective self-regulation and step in if necessary."
  • April 2005: my memoir of Nupedia and Wikipedia was posted on Slashdot
  • April 2005: at the end of an exchange between Jimmy and me on Wikipedia-L, I summed up my view: "Probably...hundreds of people had the idea about a wiki encyclopedia before Wikipedia got started, and even told each other about it. But it was the idea I had, while tasked with solving Nupedia's problem, that actually and directly led to the development of Wikipedia. That is a matter of historical fact, in living memory of several people--including Jimmy, whether he admits it or not." Jimmy responded, "Of course I 'admit' it. :-)"
  • April 2005: one of the very first Wikipedians, who had been with the project since January 2001, posted on the list his own interesting and lengthy account of Wikipedia's origins. Among other things, he wrote: "While I don't know anything of Larry and Jimbo's interaction outside the wiki, in Wikipedia itself Larry seemed to run the show, and either created or developed many (maybe most) of the conventions that we still follow. The direct work of Jimbo (again, just from what I remember I saw in the wiki) was much smaller, which makes sense considering he had somebody hired to do the job of running an encyclopedia, and the job was being well done."
  • April 2005: Florence Devouard, now Chair of the Board of the Wikimedia Foundation, responded to this by saying (among much else), "I tend to consider Larry as a co-foundator of the project myself, but not being there in 2001, it is just a personal assumption from what I heard and read."
  • January 2007: largely in response to the ongoing controversy on Wikipedia's Talk pages about Wikipedia's origins, Manning Bartlett, a very active early contributor to Wikipedia wrote on the Talk page of "History of Wikipedia" article: "Frankly - to assert that Larry was not a co-founder of the Pedia is patently absurd. Jimbo was the driving force behind the Internet-based encyclopedia concept, which became Nupedia. Larry proposed and convinced Jimbo that a wiki-based concept was worthwhile. Larry remains (in my opinion) the single most important individual in the history of the actual Wikipedia, and his structural and philosophical influence remains apparent to this day."  Another early contributor to Wikipedia, Derek Ross, responded: "Agreed. That's how I see it too."

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