Editing History of Wikipedia (section)

===Internal structures===
:''Landmarks in the Wikipedia community, and the development of its organization, [[Wikipedia:Administration|internal structures]], and [[Wikipedia:Policy|policies]].''
* In April 2001, Wales formally defines the "neutral point of view",<ref>{{Cite web |title=NeutralPointOfView |url=http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/NeutralPointOfView |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010416035757/http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/NeutralPointOfView |archive-date=16 April 2001 |access-date=13 April 2010 |publisher=Wikipedia}}</ref> Wikipedia's core non-negotiable editorial policy,<ref>"A few things are absolute and non-negotiable, though. NPOV for example." in [http://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2003-November/008096.html statement by Jimbo Wales in November 2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051125190519/http://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2003-November/008096.html |date=25 November 2005 }} and, [http://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2006-April/044379.html in this thread] reconfirmed by [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2006-April/044388.html Jimbo Wales in April 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140618224657/http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2006-April/044388.html |date=18 June 2014 }} in the context of lawsuits.</ref> a reformulation of the "Lack of Bias" policy outlined by Sanger for Nupedia in spring or summer 2000, which covered many of the same core principles.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |date=31 March 2001 |title=Nupedia: Editorial Policy Guidelines |url=http://www.nupedia.com/policy.shtml |access-date=16 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010331211742/http://www.nupedia.com/policy.shtml |archive-date=31 March 2001 |quote=Nupedia articles are, in terms of their content, to be unbiased. There may be respectable reference works that permit authors to take recognizable stands on controversial issues, but this is not one of them ... "On every issue ... is it very difficult or impossible for the reader to determine what the view is to which the author adheres?" ... for each controversial view discussed, the author of an article (at a bare minimum) mention various opposing views that are taken seriously by any significant minority of experts (or concerned parties) on the subject ... In a final version of the article, every party to the controversy in question must be able to judge that its views have been fairly presented, or as fairly as is possible in a context in which other, opposing views must also be presented as fairly as possible.}}</ref>
* In September 2001, collaboration by subject matter in {{self-reference link|Wikipedia: WikiProject|WikiProjects}} is introduced.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_proposal |title=Wikipedia:WikiProject proposal – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |work=English Wikipedia |date=18 May 2008 |access-date=13 April 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506091041/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_proposal |archive-date=6 May 2011  }}</ref>
* In February 2002, concerns over the risk of future censorship and commercialization by Bomis Inc (Wikipedia's original host) combined with a lack of guarantee this would not happen, led most participants of the [[:es:|Spanish Wikipedia]] to break away and establish it independently as the ''[[Enciclopedia Libre]]''.<ref>''[http://enciclopedia.us.es/index.php/Enciclopedia:Por_qu%E9_estamos_aqu%ED_y_no_en_es.wikipedia.org Why we are here and not in Wikipedia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710072544/http://enciclopedia.us.es/index.php/Enciclopedia:Por_qu%E9_estamos_aqu%ED_y_no_en_es.wikipedia.org |date=10 July 2022 }}'' (in Spanish, under GFDL)</ref> Following clarification of Wikipedia's status and non-commercial nature later that year, re-merger talks between Enciclopedia Libre and the re-founded Spanish Wikipedia occasionally took place in 2002 and 2003, but no conclusion was reached. As of October 2009, the two continue to coexist as substantial Spanish language reference sources, with around 43,000 articles (EL) and 520,000 articles (Sp.W) respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Especial:Statistics |title=Estadísticas – Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre |language=es |publisher=Es.wikipedia.org |access-date=13 April 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905112951/http://es.wikipedia.org./wiki/Especial:Statistics |archive-date=5 September 2008  }}</ref>
* Also in 2002, policy and style issues were clarified with the creation of the ''Manual of Style'', along with a number of other policies and guidelines.<ref>{{Citation|title=Wikipedia:Manual of Style|date=2002-08-23|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style&oldid=171156|work=Wikipedia|access-date=2023-03-16|language=en}}</ref>
* In November 2002, new mailing lists for WikiEN and Announce were set up, as well as other language mailing lists, to reduce the volume of traffic on mailing lists.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wikimedia News/2002 – Meta |url=https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_News/2002&oldid=486954 |access-date=13 April 2010 |publisher=Meta.wikimedia.org |archive-date=3 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903231255/https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikimedia_News/2002&oldid=486954 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In July 2003, the rule against editing one's [[Wikipedia:autobiography|autobiography]] is introduced.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Autobiography&oldid=1220207 |title=Wikipedia:Autobiography – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |publisher=En.wikipedia.org |date=30 July 2003 |access-date=13 April 2010 |archive-date=3 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903231255/https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Autobiography&oldid=1220207 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* On 28 October 2003, the first "real" meeting of Wikipedians happened in [[Munich]]. Many cities followed suit, and soon a number of regular Wikipedian get-togethers were established around the world. Several Internet communities, including one on the popular blog website [[LiveJournal]], have also sprung up since.
* From 10 July to 30 August 2004 the {{self-reference link|Wikipedia:Browse}} and {{self-reference link|Wikipedia:Browse by overview}} formerly on the Main Page were replaced by links to overviews. On 27 August 2004 the ''Community Portal'' was started,<ref>"[[Wikipedia:Community Portal]]", Wikipedia. Retrieved 30 January 2007.</ref> to serve as a focus for community efforts. These were previously accomplished on an informal basis, by individual queries of the Recent Changes, in wiki style, as ad hoc collaborations between like-minded editors.
* During September to December 2005 following the [[Wikipedia Seigenthaler biography incident|Seigenthaler controversy]] and other similar concerns,<ref name="Brandt2">{{Citation|title=Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons|date=2005-12-17|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons&oldid=31753956|work=Wikipedia|access-date=2023-03-16|language=en|archive-date=9 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609020908/https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons&oldid=31753956|url-status=live}}</ref> several anti-abuse features and policies were added to Wikipedia. These were:
::* The [[meta:CheckUser Policy|policy for "Checkuser"]] (a [[MediaWiki]] [[software tool|extension]] to assist detection of abuse via [[Sock puppet account|internet sock-puppetry]]) was established in November 2005.<ref>"[[meta:CheckUser policy|CheckUser policy]]", [[Meta-Wiki]]. Retrieved 25 January 2007. Checkuser function had previously existed but was known as ''Espionage'' – for example, in the Arbitration Committee [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2005-09-26/Arbitration report|case of JarlaxleArtemis]].</ref> Checkuser function had previously existed but was viewed more as a system tool at the time, so there had been no need for a policy covering use on a more routine basis.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2005-10-17/News and notes|Checkuser proposal]]</ref>
::*Creation of new pages on the English Wikipedia was restricted to editors who had created a user account.<ref>"[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2005-12-05/Page creation restrictions|Page creation restrictions]]", Wikipedia Signpost / English Wikipedia. Retrieved 31 January 2007.</ref>
::* The introduction and rapid adoption of the policy [[Wikipedia:Biographies of living people]], giving a far tighter quality control and fact-check system to biographical articles related to living people.
::* The "semi-protection" function and policy,<ref>"[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2005-12-26/Semi-protection|Semi-protection policy]]", Wikipedia Signpost / English Wikipedia. Retrieved 30 January 2007.</ref> allowing pages to be protected so that only those with an account could edit.
* In May 2006, a new "oversight" feature was introduced on the English Wikipedia, allowing a handful of highly trusted users to permanently erase page revisions containing copyright infringements or libelous or personal information from a page's history. Previous to this, page version deletion was laborious, and also deleted versions remained visible to other administrators and could be un-deleted by them.
* On 1 January 2007, the subcommunity named [[Wikipedia:Esperanza|Esperanza]] was disbanded by communal consent. Esperanza had begun as an effort to promote "[[Wikipedia:WikiLove|wikilove]]" and a social support network, but had developed its own subculture and private structures.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2007-01-02/Experanza|Esperanza organization disbanded after deletion discussion]] 2 January 2007</ref> Its disbanding was described as the painful but necessary remedy for a project that had allowed editors to "see themselves as Esperanzans first and foremost".<ref name="Ezperanza">{{cite web|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:MFD/EA |title=Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Wikipedia:Esperanza – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |publisher=En.wikipedia.org |access-date=13 April 2010}}</ref> A number of Esperanza's subprojects were integrated back into Wikipedia as free-standing projects, but most of them are now inactive. When the group was founded in September 2005, there had been concerns expressed that it would eventually be condemned as such.<ref>[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2005-09-19/Esperanza group|New group aims to promote Wiki-Love]] 19 September 2005</ref>
* In April 2007, the results of a 4-month policy review by a working group of several hundred editors seeking to merge the core Wikipedia policies into one core policy ([[Wikipedia:Attribution]]) were polled for community support. The proposal did not gain consensus; a significant view became evident that the existing structure of three strong focused policies covering the respective areas of policy, was frequently seen as more helpful to quality control than one more general merged proposal.
* A one-day blackout of Wikipedia was called by [[Jimmy Wales]] on 18 January 2012, in conjunction with Google and over 7,000 other websites, to protest the [[Stop Online Piracy Act]] then under consideration by the [[United States Congress]].