Muppet Wiki (website)

From Muppet Wiki

Muppet Wiki is a wiki "for everything related to Jim Henson and the Muppets." It is hosted by Wikia (formerly known as Wikicities), which runs on MediaWiki software. This format allows visitors to add, remove, or otherwise edit and change the available content. Muppet Wiki works as a fan community on the collaborative project of creating in-depth encyclopedic articles.

The wiki's database currently contains 17,249 encyclopedic articles (which does not include wiki discussions, project pages and redirects). The best of these entries have been voted on by the community and dubbed Quality Articles. Other topics of particular interest have been featured on the main page as what's happening Today on Muppet Wiki.

Muppet Wiki was founded on December 5, 2005. The wiki was established by Danny Horn, Scott Hanson and Peter Papazoglou. The three serve as administrators, along with Andrew Leal, Guillermo Gomez and Wendy. The logo was designed by Scott Hanson and based on a theme from the March photo in The Miss Piggy Calendar 1980.

Although the wiki is run in an unofficial capacity, several industry insiders have made substantial contributions, adding to the wiki's verifiability (see "Mission" statement below). Their presence has been welcome in a capacity of their choosing: while some individuals have gone on record as identified experts, the anonymity of others is respected and acknowledged by the wiki hosts.

Mission

The goal of Muppet Wiki and its contributors is to build a database of articles related to Jim Henson's career and various character universes. Through the research of published works and various media content, the database is meant to serve as a comprehensive source of reference. An accurate account of works cited is provided when possible (by way of footnotes and adherance to other policies), and particular attention is given to verifiability. Special care is taken with disputed or erroneous information, and in some cases may result in a settlement in the form of a rumor disclaimer.

Although the name of the site is Muppet Wiki, the encyclopedia extends to areas outside of what may be publicly perceived as "Muppet" content in some cases. For example, Sesame Street, while well known for its inclusion of Jim Henson's Muppets, is also comprised of a number of different contributions such as animation and live-action film unrelated to the Muppets. Because Sesame Street and the Sesame Street Muppets are so closely associated, these areas often blend into one another, and thus, have been included in some cases.

Similarly, Jim Henson's work outside of the Muppets is equally focused on, such as in the case of Jim Henson's Creature Shop. While works produced outside of The Jim Henson Company are included, only those with work provided by the Creature Shop that have also been produced by Henson are covered as extensively as Muppet content. Other examples of non-Muppet Jim Henson content include The Cube and "Tick-Tock Sick."

Milestones and Press Coverage

Jimmy Wales uses Muppet Wiki statistics and the article on Itzhak Perlman as an example of the potential in subject-focused wikis in a lecture at NYU on Februay 1, 2007. (listen here) ^[1]

• Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia and Wikia, frequently uses Muppet Wiki as an example of how to build a successful wiki community in public lectures, seminars and interviews. ^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}

• At only two months old, Muppet Wiki was voted Wikia's Featured Wiki for the month of February 2006.

• By December 5, 2006, Muppet Wiki's one year anniversary, the database housed 1,766 Muppet Characters, 548 Sesame Street Books, and 521 Muppet Show Songs; 12,130 articles in all, averaging a thousand articles per month in one year. [1]

• Muppet Wiki was featured in segment #4 of the August 3, 2006 broadcast of The 9 on Yahoo TV!.

• The site has also been mentioned in The Boston Globe^[8] and The New York Post^[9].

• In the July 2007 print edition of reason magazine, coverage of Muppet Wiki is used as an example of Wikia's growth:

Consider, for instance, the astonishing growth and readership at the Wikia site devoted to Muppets. At a little over one year old, the Muppet Wiki has 13,700 articles. Every single one is about Muppets. Interested in an in-depth look at the use of gorilla suits in the Muppet movies? No problem. Just type in "gorilla suits" and enjoy a well-illustrated article that documents, among other things, the names of actors who have worn an ape outfit for Jim Henson. There is a timeline of all things Muppet-related. An entry on China details Big Bird's reception in the People's Republic. The site is astonishingly comprehensive and, perhaps more impressive, comprehensible to a Muppet novice.[10]

• National Public Radio listed Muppet Wiki's Cookie Monster article as a "Web Resource" in conjunction with a featured spot on their program In Character on February 8, 2008. [2]

See Also

• Muppet Wiki Main Page
• Muppet Wiki FAQ
• Muppet Wiki Community Portal
• Muppet Wiki Statistics

Sources

External links

• September 24, 2007 Press Release