Week3--Chapter 2 The Pursuit of the Universal Encyclopedia--LIUJUNYU

 If Wikipedia is an open and collaborative temple of knowledge, then what supports it is not only the code and the server, but also a profound ideological tradition. In Chapter 2, Joseph Reagle takes me back to the ideological roots of Wikipedia, exploring how it integrates free culture, network idealism and collaborative ethics, and finally achieves today's world's largest encyclopedia.

Hacker culture and free spirit

The spiritual gene of Wikipedia can be traced back to hacker culture and the free software movement. Reagle describes in detail the "hacker ethics" that emerged in MIT, California and other places in the second half of the 20th century: knowledge should be shared, technology should be free, and creation should be open. This spirit not only gave birth to open source projects such as Linux and GNU, but also had a profound impact on Wikipedia.

Wikipedia founders Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger were deeply influenced by this culture. They believe that technology can not only solve problems, but also organize human cooperation and promote the construction of public knowledge.

Cyber ​​Utopia: The Possibility of Collaboration

Reagle also discussed the role of "cyber utopianism" in the birth of Wikipedia. In the 1990s, the Internet was seen by many as a new space that transcended countries, markets, and hierarchies. In this space, people could express themselves freely, communicate equally, and collaborate across borders.

Wikipedia was originally conceived in this optimistic atmosphere. It is not an elite writing project, but believes that "everyone can edit" and that ordinary people have the ability to participate in knowledge construction. Reagle pointed out in the book that it is this combination of "technological idealism" and "collaborative vision" that makes Wikipedia not only a tool, but also a social experiment.

Although Wikipedia draws inspiration from free culture, it does not mean "no rules". Reagle emphasized that the development of Wikipedia was also influenced by Enlightenment ideas (such as Kant's "rational public use"): openness is for public reason, and public reason needs to be regulated. Therefore, Wikipedia not only encourages free participation, but also attaches great importance to courtesy, fairness, transparency and responsibility. This "order in freedom" reflects its deep cultural ideal: a collaborative community that is both democratic and rational.

Reflection: Wikipedia is not an accidental miracle

Reagle makes us understand through this chapter: Wikipedia can work not because of the coincidence of technical genius, but because it stands at the intersection of a series of ideological traditions. From the open spirit of hacker culture, to the collaborative dream of Internet utopia, to the respect for public knowledge in the Enlightenment, these ideas have jointly shaped a unique online cultural product. In today's era full of platform monopoly and information noise, Wikipedia looks more like an "alternative": it does not rely on advertising, does not chase traffic, and is not controlled by algorithms, but it still operates strongly. This "alternative" is the victory of the ideological tradition behind it.

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