Wikipedia, the world's largest online encyclopedia, currently runs in a centralized manner, essentially it is supposed to be a free and decentralized organization. If Wikipedia can run in a decentralized manner, it will be able to solve problems such as user restrictions, data ownership, and sustainable development of the platform itself. With the development of blockchain technology, decentralize Wikipedia can be achieved step by step from three aspects.
1. Blockchain eliminates the borders brought by censorship
According to Wikipedia, the records of different countries blocking Wikipedia or imposing censorship on Wikipedia are piling up. For example, France, Germany, Pakistan, Turkey, China, and other countries have taken measures to block information in some specific languages, or even the entire website, which denies users the right to enjoy the convenience brought by Wikipedia. Assuming that Wikipedia is fully decentralized through blockchain technology, everyone will be able to use Wikipedia due to the characteristics of blockchain.
2. Adopting the CYFS Protocol to claim the ownership of created content
CYFS is a new, open-source internet protocol for Web3, and users can create a content-oriented, immutable cyfs:// link to publish their content and let others access it with no delay. The process is completely decentralized, and no one can remove or restrict your content. In this way, CYFS guarantees everyone the right to publish content on the web and the value of data is also owned by the data producer.
Therefore, the biggest advantage that Wikipedia users have in creating entries after adopting CYFS Protocol is that they can own the content they created. What's more, the content creator, namely the owner, can earn passive income from it. The reliability and availability of the CYFS Protocol have been demonstrated by other projects. The first project using this protocol is the decentralized storage project DataMall Chain, which fully leverages the characteristics of the CYFS Protocol. It is believed that Wikipedia, will be more effective to protect the ownership of information once adopting the CYFS Protocol
3. DAO guarantees sustainable development of Wikipedia
Wikipedia, founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger in 2001, has established a strict user hierarchy system after more than ten years of improvement. However, an incentive mechanism is essential for improving user stickiness. To make its project sustainable, Wikipedia as a non-profit organization needs to make money to maintain its operation through donations, investments, goods sales and authorizing its content to other companies. However, its donations have long been controversial because their amount is not transparent.
Wikipedia can make the project run on its own through the Dao of CYFS, thus making Wiki more neutral. In the operation of DAO, token rewards can be adopted for all contributions. It not only makes the project more decentralized, but also stimulates the enthusiasm of all parties so that Wikipedia can achieve sustainable development through incentive measures.
If these bold assumptions can be fulfilled, Wikipedia will become a pioneer in Web3. Of course, whether Wikipedia will face other derivative problems and development possibilities after completing the transition requires more continuous exploration and discovery in the process of practice.
References:
1. "Censorship of Wikipedia." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Nov. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_of_Wikipedia.
2. Hendelmann, Viktor. "The Wikipedia Business Model — How Does Wikipedia Make Money?" Productmint, 3 Sept. 2022, https://productmint.com/wikipedia-business-model-how-does-wikipedia-make-money/.
3. "What Is CYFS." Cyfs.com, 18 Aug. 2022, https://www.cyfs.com/document.
