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<Paper uid="W06-2804">
  <Title>An analysis of Wikipedia digital writing</Title>
  <Section position="5" start_page="19" end_page="20" type="concl">
    <SectionTitle>
5. Conclusions
</SectionTitle>
    <Paragraph position="0"> In conclusion, this research project has two main focuses: defining the Wikipedia language variations within a dual context of use: official encyclopaedic entries (WikiLanguage) vs backstage community Speak (WikiSpeak).</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="1"> Wikipedia, as a new expression for the encyclopedic genre, appears very similar to traditional printed encyclopedias due to its stylistic homogeneity, expressed Neutral Point name comes from the uppercase &amp;quot;bumps&amp;quot; in the middle of the compound word, suggesting the humps of a camel.</Paragraph>
    <Section position="1" start_page="19" end_page="20" type="sub_section">
      <SectionTitle>
of View
</SectionTitle>
      <Paragraph position="0"> and formal style. The first findings of this research in progress seem to demonstrate how Wikipedia succeeds in reproducing an extant traditional genre even if applied to a collaborative and constructivist scenario.</Paragraph>
      <Paragraph position="1"> According to Shephered and Watters (1998), extant subgenres are based on already existing genres in other media forms which have been converted into digital form (i.e. newspaper into electronic news); on the contrary, novel subgenres are entirely dependent on the new medium (i.e. homepages, search engines, webgames, etc.). They stated that when an extant genre migrates to a digital environment, it will initially be faithfully replicated: content and form will be preserved and the capabilities of the new medium will not be fully exploited (see Britannica). At a later stage in the evolution, variant genres are created. This process is driven by the technical capabilities of the new medium. It is the point of view of this study that Wikipedia can be taken as an example of the evolution of an extant traditional genre (encyclopedias) which has been officially preserved in the articles' superficial form, but not in the writing and reading processes (social editing, intertextuality, high informativeness and browsing mechanisms). The articles' textual form seems to suggest that when collaborative users have to respect stylistic established norms (see Wiki Manual of Style  ) and shared social working ethics (see Wikiquette  ), diversity and controversy are erased and the official requested style is respected within the open editing system. Nevertheless, technological advantages offered by collaborative software, reinforce the variety, the quick updating and interconnection of the information provided by the contributors' multitude. Their voices, even if individually, originally and democratically expressed in the CMC wiki community, are merged and homogenized in the articles' neutrality and formality.</Paragraph>
      <Paragraph position="2">  A Neutral Point Of View (NPOV) is writing free from bias. It is generally considered desirable for journalistic and encyclopedic writings. According to the Wikipedia's founder, Jimbo Wales, NPOV is an &amp;quot;absolute and nonnegotiable&amp;quot; principle in Wiki Manual of Style.  Manual of Style is a style guide for Wikipedia's contributors. It has the purpose of making the editing easier by following a consistent format.</Paragraph>
      <Paragraph position="3">  Principles of Wikiquette are the guidelines on how to work with others on Wikipedia.</Paragraph>
      <Paragraph position="4">  Linguistic analysis cannot be separated from the investigation of the main philosophical and political goals of Wikipedia whose main aim is to pursue freedom of content and information expressed through the Wikipedian &amp;quot;Collective&amp;quot; (Levy, 1994) and &amp;quot;Connective&amp;quot; Intelligence (de Kerckove, 1997) in this new acentric rhizomatic environment  (Deleuze-Guattari, 1980). Encyclopaedia Britannica is a knowledge compendium without any political meaning hosted by a commercial website (.com). In the 18 th century, the original French &amp;quot;Encyclopedie&amp;quot; from Diderot and D'Alambert was mainly a political project designed to propagate the ideas of Enlightenment and to establish the reign of reason in Europe (Soufron, 2004). Similarly, Wikipedia in the current I.C.T. age, can be considered as a postmodern Encyclopaedia, a copyleft reference work with a non-profit cultural goal (.org) affording a political project rather than merely a scientific one. It is aimed at changing the society of the 21 st century by giving control over content to everyone and thus enhancing freedom of expression and recovering the original aim of the World Wide Web inventor: Sir Tim Berners Lee wanted the web to be a boundless library of Babel and not a global supermarket as it has become in the dot.com era.</Paragraph>
    </Section>
  </Section>
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