How did Wikipedia start?

Wikipedia's origin is rooted in the ethos of the Free Software Movement and open-source collaboration. Jimmy Wales observed how programmers were sharing code under free licenses, enabling collaborative development. He believed this collaborative model could be applied to other cultural works, like an encyclopedia. This idea led to the creation of Nupedia around 2000, which had a rigorous seven-stage academic review process aimed at ensuring credibility. However, this process proved too slow and cumbersome, highlighting the need for a more inclusive and dynamic approach 1 2.

In December 2000, one of Wales' employees introduced the wiki concept—a simple, easy-to-use platform. By January 2001, they launched Wikipedia as a side project to Nupedia to see how it would fare. Wikipedia was designed to harness the collective knowledge and contributions of volunteers globally, where anyone could edit entries without going through an extensive review process. This model quickly proved more effective and allowed for rapid content growth and continuous updates, setting the stage for Wikipedia's eventual success 3 1.