Critical Point of View

Book excerpt: For millions of internet users around the globe, the search for new knowledge begins with Wikipedia. The encyclopedia's rapid rise, novel organization, and freely offered content have been marveled at and denounced by a host of commentators. This book moves beyond unflagging praise, well-worn facts, and questions about its reliability and accuracy, to unveil the complex, messy, and controversial realities of a distributed knowledge platform. The essays, interviews and artworks brought together in this reader form part of the overarching 'Critical Point of View' research initiative, which began with a conference in Bangalore (January 2010), followed by events in Amsterdam (March 2010) and Leipzig (September 2010). With an emphasis on theoretical reflection, cultural difference and indeed, critique, contributions to this collection ask: What values are embedded in Wikipedia's software? On what basis are Wikipedia's claims to neutrality made?