Wikivoyage
Encyclopedia
Wikivoyage is a free web
-based travel guide for both travel destinations and travel topics written by volunteer authors. The name is a blend of the words “Wiki
” (an Internet
based software system that allows change and extension of the text by any user) and “Voyage”, the French word for travel, journey, voyage, or trip.
The project has been founded in September 2006 by a German association of the same name acting supra-regionally: Wikivoyage e.V. It has been available on the Internet from December 10, 2006 and considers itself free in every respect: its contents are published under the copyleft
license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
— which also allows commercial use — and are freely, and for free available online as well as in a downloadable offline version. Commercial influence harmful to this kind of project, e.g. by the travel industry, is intentionally excluded.
, in particular with respect to the German language. This was driven by the disappointment when the acquisition of wikitravel.org by the operator of media and e-commerce sites Internet Brands
was announced on April 20, 2006. Additionally a discontent with the management style of the project led to the decision of most German administrators and authors to continue the project as a fork
.
After half a year of preparation, the by now registered and recognised as non-profitable association Wikivoyage e.V. was founded, which is both the owner of the domain names and operator of the server. On December 10, 2006, the project went online with the database taken over from the German-language Wikitravel. After seven months already 40 % of the articles were new (50% after 10 months). Of course there are still some holes to fill up, but there are several articles for travel destinations like Egypt
, Thailand
and Switzerland
or for the travel topic Cycling
.
The Italian branch of Wikivoyage was launched on December 10, 2007. The organisation of the media data and the administration of the user access are already applicable for use with branches in other languages.
The project had already been a topic of news reports, particularly in the Swiss radio and press. The Tages-Anzeiger
from Zurich as well as the Swiss radio station DRS1
reported broadly about the project without concealing the still existing weaknesses. Therefore, it is not astonishing that this project is mainly supported by German and Swiss authors.
, Wikivoyage uses the free software MediaWiki
in order to allow an internet based use without registration for non-authorship users. The quality assurance occurs in the same way as on Wikipedia, i.e. through reciprocal control by users. The use of the same software is supposed to facilitate familiarisation with Wikivoyage.
but the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
license. This mean is supposed to facilitate the production of printed guides from a legal point of view. In opposition to the texts, the aim for media files is to be published either in the public domain or under multiple licenses (GNU, Creative Commons).
which show the affiliation to the articles.
Different name spaces are used to separate different topics. The main name space contains travel destinations within their geographical hierarchy. Two other important name spaces are reserved for travel topics and travel news, with the intent to allow a tight interweavement between travel destinations and topics.
The content's design is incumbent on the authors, i.e. the community, and not the association.
The choice of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
license is intended to allow the simplified distribution under the mention of the authors without the need to state the complete license text.
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
-based travel guide for both travel destinations and travel topics written by volunteer authors. The name is a blend of the words “Wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
” (an Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
based software system that allows change and extension of the text by any user) and “Voyage”, the French word for travel, journey, voyage, or trip.
The project has been founded in September 2006 by a German association of the same name acting supra-regionally: Wikivoyage e.V. It has been available on the Internet from December 10, 2006 and considers itself free in every respect: its contents are published under the copyleft
Copyleft
Copyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
— which also allows commercial use — and are freely, and for free available online as well as in a downloadable offline version. Commercial influence harmful to this kind of project, e.g. by the travel industry, is intentionally excluded.
History
Wikivoyage's history dates back to October 7, 2004 when many of its authors and administrators pressed ahead with the building up of the German branch of WikitravelWikitravel
-External links:* *...
, in particular with respect to the German language. This was driven by the disappointment when the acquisition of wikitravel.org by the operator of media and e-commerce sites Internet Brands
Internet Brands
Internet Brands is a new media company based in El Segundo, California that operates online media, community, and e-commerce sites in vertical markets. The company also develops and licenses internet software and social media applications....
was announced on April 20, 2006. Additionally a discontent with the management style of the project led to the decision of most German administrators and authors to continue the project as a fork
Fork (software development)
In software engineering, a project fork happens when developers take a legal copy of source code from one software package and start independent development on it, creating a distinct piece of software...
.
After half a year of preparation, the by now registered and recognised as non-profitable association Wikivoyage e.V. was founded, which is both the owner of the domain names and operator of the server. On December 10, 2006, the project went online with the database taken over from the German-language Wikitravel. After seven months already 40 % of the articles were new (50% after 10 months). Of course there are still some holes to fill up, but there are several articles for travel destinations like Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
or for the travel topic Cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
.
The Italian branch of Wikivoyage was launched on December 10, 2007. The organisation of the media data and the administration of the user access are already applicable for use with branches in other languages.
The project had already been a topic of news reports, particularly in the Swiss radio and press. The Tages-Anzeiger
Tages-Anzeiger
Tages-Anzeiger, also abbreviated Tagi or TA, is a German language Swiss national daily newspaper based in Zurich. Among newspapers in Switzerland, it has one of the largest readerships, reaching around 550,000 readers. The Tages-Anzeiger was first published in 1893...
from Zurich as well as the Swiss radio station DRS1
SRG SSR idée suisse
SRG SSR is the Swiss public broadcasting organisation, founded in 1931 as SRG-SSR. Headquartered in Bern, SRG SSR is a non-profit organisation, funded mainly through radio and television licence fees and making the remaining income from advertising and sponsorship.Switzerland's system of direct...
reported broadly about the project without concealing the still existing weaknesses. Therefore, it is not astonishing that this project is mainly supported by German and Swiss authors.
Mode of operation
Similarly to the free encyclopaedia WikipediaWikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
, Wikivoyage uses the free software MediaWiki
MediaWiki
MediaWiki is a popular free web-based wiki software application. Developed by the Wikimedia Foundation, it is used to run all of its projects, including Wikipedia, Wiktionary and Wikinews. Numerous other wikis around the world also use it to power their websites...
in order to allow an internet based use without registration for non-authorship users. The quality assurance occurs in the same way as on Wikipedia, i.e. through reciprocal control by users. The use of the same software is supposed to facilitate familiarisation with Wikivoyage.
License
Wikivoyage does not use the GNU Free Documentation LicenseGNU Free Documentation License
The GNU Free Documentation License is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the rights to copy, redistribute, and modify a work and requires all copies and...
but the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
license. This mean is supposed to facilitate the production of printed guides from a legal point of view. In opposition to the texts, the aim for media files is to be published either in the public domain or under multiple licenses (GNU, Creative Commons).
Information structure
As compared to encyclopaedias the information is built up in a more structured way. Articles belonging to a topic are grouped as well through the categories known from the Mediawiki software as well as through the so-called bread crumb trailsBreadcrumb (navigation)
Breadcrumbs or breadcrumb trail is a navigation aid used in user interfaces. It allows users to keep track of their locations within programs or documents. The term comes from the trail of breadcrumbs left by Hansel and Gretel in the popular fairytale....
which show the affiliation to the articles.
Different name spaces are used to separate different topics. The main name space contains travel destinations within their geographical hierarchy. Two other important name spaces are reserved for travel topics and travel news, with the intent to allow a tight interweavement between travel destinations and topics.
The content's design is incumbent on the authors, i.e. the community, and not the association.
Distribution
A distribution through mirrors or by other means of modern media is licit and also desired. For this purpose, up-to-date archives are provided on a weekly basis. The files contained in these archives are provided with all the necessary legal licensing information, e.g. the attribution of the authors. A technical extension related to the program concerning the mentioning of the image authors is in preparation.The choice of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
license is intended to allow the simplified distribution under the mention of the authors without the need to state the complete license text.
External links
- www.wikivoyage.org – Online travel guide (with link to German or Italian language version)