For those who have missed it, congratulations with 25 years of Wikipedia! On 15 January 2001, 25 years ago, Wikipedia was launched in English. Since then, our beloved platform has grown enormously and has become one of the most widely used platforms in the world.
Do you still remember that Wikipedia originally had a different logo <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_logo_The_Cunctator.png>? The text in the circle was originally a quote from a known text which differed by language. Initially, "the" was apparently the central thing for users on the English Wikipedia. On the Spanish Wikipedia they had a focus for "Isaac <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia-es-nostalgia.jpg>", a fellow on Wikipedia that already very early contributed to our common world of knowledge. On the Dutch Wikipedia they stayed with the logo <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_logo_wikipedia_nl_oorspronkelijk.png> a bit more practical with "coffee" (Dutch: "koffie") as central word. The Dutch realised very quickly that coffee alone is not enough, we needed something extra and that became the stroopwafel <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroopwafel>. The Dutch can be a bit fanatic (my POV ☺️), so they took those stroopwafels <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eating_stroopwafels_is_a_blast.jpg> everywhere they went and shared them with fellow Wikipedians on almost every single corner of almost every continent of our blue planet. This could be tricky at the customs. "Anything to declare?" - "Yes, food." - "What kind of food?" - "Cookies!" - "That's fine, you can go through." I am happy the guard did not ask how many, because my suitcase was full with it. One of the historic moments that has truly set a lasting impact on our movement was in August 2007. A true mythological moment is where the chair of the WMF at the time declared <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimania2007_Florence_with_stroopwafel.jpg> stroopwafels as the official food of Wikimedia. As it goes with great moments in our shared history, some people may deny that it has taken place. Proof that such a celebratory event must have taken place is the enormous amount of members who joined the Association of Stroopwafel Addicts <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Stroopwafel_Addicts> since. If you are reading this, you have to realise that the amount of members who joined this association (some secretly) is so large with a large degree of saturation in our global community, that you sure know at least one member. Speaking about membership in a more broad sense, anyone in the world who accesses Wikipedia, is a member of at least one group we have in our movement. (Didn't you know? Then look here <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q26899865>.) This means that Wikipedia is by far the most inclusive platform there is online (and still missing most of the world's knowledge). And even more inclusive than you might think! I know there is at least one account that is/was in use by a dog. (I post no link to the user page, because I am not sure if the dog has fully understood the code of conduct we have.) To my knowledge, the dog hasn't written any featured articles, but who knows what this species may bring in future. You know the saying, "*On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Internet,_nobody_knows_you%27re_a_dog>*", so perhaps that doggie account is more common than we think. Then someone might point me to WikiCats <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiCat>, but that it something different. But 25 years of Wikipedia have learned me that also the contributions of monkeys is appreciated on Wikipedia. It is bit common that first you have a notable topic, and then you take photos to illustrate the article, the monkey I know took first some photos and then made it notable <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_selfie_copyright_dispute>. To me by far the most funny animal picture (and picture at all) on Wikipedia (read: I challenge you to find a funnier one), and ate a stroopwafel <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stroopwafelselfie.png>, so (s)he is absolutely one of us. Perhaps even aliens may already have used Wikipedia, knowing this initiative <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_to_the_Moon>. If I have a bad day, I visit that article and just that photo in that article makes me happy. What also makes me happy is that all contributions to Wikipedia are seen. Sometimes I get questions from students about this, and I am wondering about it too from time to time. But yes, even the most obscure or unusual topics attract visitors. Even topics of what you may think "*is anyone going to read this?*" Apparently yes. I take then for example this article <https://w.wiki/HUai> (so thank you for clicking on this link! 😋), but that might be an issue of this article <https://w.wiki/5PPE>. I started editing Wikipedia in 2003, so I joined the community a bit late. On a daily base I still see the older generation editing Wikipedia, so I am also still a newby. In the early years Wikipedia frustrated me a lot, because I needed to know something and it wasn't described. At first I commented on talk pages about it, but that did not help much. At some point the frustration level rose and then at a certain point you reach the level "*then I write it myself*". That hasn't changed, I am still that newby every day that gets frustrated about missing articles/pieces of information, but what has changed is that the frustrations threshold has become much lower, while still learning something new every day I edit Wikipedia. The whole world is frustrating with all its chaos and more, but at east on Wikipedia you can turn around that negative energy in something positive. By now I have learned that we have probably an article about that effect, but I don't know how it is called. The more I edit, the more I realise how little I know. I know so little, but at the same time there is some tendency of users who think I know the answer to their questions. It's a paradox. If you are long enough editing Wikipedia, you very likely will experience an annoying disease. It probably has a name too, someone in the reading crowd likely will mention it, please add it then here: " ". It is the feeling that if you see an error on a webpage, you want to click on the edit button the change the mistake, and then you can't. Another more healthier disease is the urge to hold up a sign with the text [citation needed] when hearing something that raises your suspicion that it may not be true. This urge may have reduced in the past years with the overdosis of fiction that gets labelled as facts and the facts getting labelled as fiction, but that might also be caused under the influence of others who dislike you a lot when they are confronted that what they believe is true is actually false and do not want to modify what they think <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance>, as it is easier to shoot the messenger <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_the_messenger>. In history it seems to be that there were always people who did not want to know the facts, but in the end truth prevails <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_prevails>, it only may take some time. In the mean while, while we are waiting, it seems good to also have some fun. What I am missing most in Wikipedia are some good easter eggs <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg_(media)>. If you know any, please share them. We can keep collecting knowledge, please do so, but we already have the sum of all knowledge <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Prime_objective>, it's 42 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrases_from_The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#The_Answer_to_the_Ultimate_Question_of_Life,_the_Universe,_and_Everything_is_42>. Or do you need to see it first to be printed? Well, then look here <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Print_Wikipedia>. We already have the sum, we just keep collecting knowledge, a piece of cake! And with that piece of cake we close of 25 fabulous years and start another 25 fabulous years. Anyone up for a piece of that cake? Thank you all for the great work of the past, the present and the future to come! PS: Did you already add your birthday wishes to the Meta page? https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_25/Birthday_card/Signatures If you experience an edit conflict, that is nostalgia! That we experienced almost every day when we edited Wikipedia 20 years ago. PS2: Today we reached the milestone of 25 years of Wikipedia. I suspect most of us have seen the output as encyclopedia, but the great stories behind it are often hidden. I have tried to describe some remarkable things and humor that I have seen passing by in the past. I have missed many. If you have a (positive) story to share, feel free to tell us about it on this exciting birthday. PS3: The challenge is to link is a more funnier picture than that of that monkey. Not just a funny picture, but the absolutely number one. Hugs and kisses <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugs_and_kisses>! Romaine
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