Wikipedia Volunteer Editor Reaches 1 Million Edits

Here’s a hobby you’ve probably never considered — making a million edits on Wikipedia.

That’s how Justin Knapp, 29, of Indianapolis, Ind., became the poster boy of Wikipedia editors. The site recognized Knapp’s as the first volunteer editor to reach 1 million edits on the website Friday. The college-educated Knapp told Mashable he has spent 10 hours a day reading and adding to posts since he lost his job as a pizza delivery guy.

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Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales declared April 20 Justin Knapp Day in celebration.

“Wikipedians of the distant future shall marvel at the first person to ever make 1,000,000 edits,” Wales said.

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Knapp began using Wikipedia as a resource in the early 2000s and started editing the site shortly after. In 2005, he created a login to track and compile his edits. He averages about 385 edits per day.

He describes himself as an average Midwesterner. He’s frugal, lives conservatively and enjoys volunteering countless hours to the free outlet. His favorite band is R.E.M. and he frequently listens to alternative rock. Knapp studied philosophy and political science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Wikipedia’s estimated 90,000 editors are unpaid and on the decline. In 2007, Wikipedia had more than 100,000 active editors.

“Increasing active editors is a primary objective of the Wikimedia Foundation this year and over the next few years as part of our strategic plan,” Matthew Roth, a Wikipedia spokesman said. “We believe that increasing the size of our engaged community is a positive objective for the long-term health of the projects.”

Knapp added: “If anyone else feels like they value sharing free knowledge, there is always something to be done at Wikipedia.”

Knapp’s political agenda got him interested in contributing to the site. He started editing Wikipedia because he said “there wasn’t enough coverage on the Western Sahara.

“I was not interested in providing a balanced prospective, I was interested in political advocacy,” he said. “I have since realized that Wikipedia is not the outlet for political advocacy and that this isn’t really a tool for me to play around with.”

Knapp said his motivation has shifted. Now, he is focused on re-arranging information logically within the site. Knapp is particular about grammar and is easily irked by a missing comma or an improperly used hyphen.

The majority of his million edits are relatively small, he says. He is drawn to music, politics, philosophy and religion.

“I find editing Wikipedia relaxing and rewarding,” Knapp said. “It’s a hobby of mine. It’s what I like to do.”

Jobs in the philosophy industry have been hard to come by, he says. He has completed odd jobs. Currently, he is taking prerequisite classes for nursing school. He plans to apply to nursing school in the future. Regardless, he plans to continue editing Wikipedia articles as a super user koavf.

What do you think of Knapp’s accomplishments on Wikipedia? Tell us in the comments what you think about the openness of the online database.

Image courtesy of the Wikimedia Foundation

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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