User:Hemlock Martinis/Kingdom of Wikipedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wikipedia
Kingdom of Wikipedia
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| Motto: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia | ||||||
| Anthem: Hotel Wikipedia |
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| Capital | En | |||||
| Largest language | En | |||||
| Official languages | English de facto | |||||
| Government | Constitutional monarchy | |||||
| - | King of Wikipedia | Jimbo I | ||||
| - | Upper House of Parliament | House of Arbitrators | ||||
| - | Lower House of Parliament | House of Editors | ||||
| Establishment | ||||||
| - | Establishment | January 15, 2001 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | Unknown km² (n/a) n/a sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | negligible | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2007 estimate | est. 4,800,000 (n/a) | ||||
| - | 2007 census | n/a | ||||
| - | Density | n/a/km² (n/a) n/a/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2001 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | n/a (n/a) | ||||
| - | Per capita | n/a (n/a) | ||||
| Gini (2001) | n/a (n/a) | |||||
| HDI (2001) | n/a (n/a) (n/a) | |||||
| Currency | United States dollar ($), WikiMoney (ψ) (USD) |
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| Time zone | UTC (UTC+0) | |||||
| Internet TLD | .org | |||||
| Calling code | +1 | |||||
| edit | ||||||
The Kingdom of Wikipedia (IPA: /ˌwikiˈpiːdi.ə/ or /ˌwɪkiˈpiːdi.ə/ (Audio (U.S.) ), commonly called Wikipedia, is a country located on the Internet. Consisting of nearly five million pages in the capital province of En alone, Wikipedia has grown to become one of the most powerful nations on the Internet despite citizen revolts, an ongoing insurgency, and two large independence movements.
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[edit] History
Wikipedia was founded on January 15, 2001 by Jimbo I as an alternative to the largely over-commercialized encyclopedias of the time. Originally containing just the En province, Wikipedia has since been subdivided into other provinces, most notably De, Fr, Es, Jp, and Zh. Most Wikipedians now live outside the capital, which has a certain degree of special status as not only the most largest and most populous province, but also as the residence of the King.
[edit] Government
In its earliest days, Wikipedia was an absolute monarchy, with Jimbo I and his designated representatives enforcing the common law of the land. By 2002, Wikipedia had grown so large that it was not feasible to limit powers to such a small group. This led to the formation of the Administrator Corps, who handle day-to-day law enforcement in a manner similar to the fictional Green Lantern Corps. Admins are appointed for life or good behavior. Abuse of powers, although rare, has happened; when it does, they can be forcibly removed from office by Jimbo I, the Arbitration Committee, or the Steward Corps (the personal enforcers of the Arbitration Committee). Admins are known to have the ability to exile unsavory citizens and quarantine sections of the Kingdom. Rumors abound that the members of the Admin Corps have supernatural abilities beyond mere mortals, such as time travel to prevent vandalism before it occurs and even erasing pollution and urban decay from existence. Because of their extraordinary powers, conflicts between Admins have been known to be incredibly destructive.
Political participation is most accessible through the Lower House of Parliament, the House of Editors, which consists of every single citizen of the Kingdom. It is the only House of Parliament to allow political parties to participate. The two largest political parties are the Inclusionist and Deletionist Parties, although enough minor parties exist to make sessions and debates lively and spirited.
The House of Arbitrators is not only the Upper House of Parliament but also the court of last resort, giving it extraordinary powers over both judicial and legislative matters. Cases come to the House of Arbitrators through either original jurisdiction (coming directly to the House of Arbitrators) or appellate jurisdiction (passing first through either the district courts or the justices of the peace), with original jurisdiction comprising the vast majority of cases.
[edit] Foreign relations
[edit] Allies
The Kingdom of Wikipedia is at the heart of the Wikimedia Commonwealth, a commonwealth of states that includes (in order of founding) Wikitionary, Wikiquote, Wikibooks, Wikisource, Wikimedia Commons, Wikispecies, Wikinews, Wikiversity and Meta-Wiki. The Wikimedia Commonwealth is led by a Security Council, the members of which each elected by popular vote by all Foundation citizens. As Emperor of the Wikis, Jimbo I also holds the title of King in each of the other Commonwealth states, although he rarely deigns to interfere in their internal affairs; he also maintains a permanent seat on the Security Council.
Wikipedia maintains good relations with the neighboring Wikia Confederacy. The two nations often share territory, with non-arable lands often ceded to states in the Confederacy with similar backgrounds. The lands are then tended there, allowing Wikipedia citizens to focus their energies on more arable lands.
[edit] Breakaway countries
In the last six years, two independece movements left Wikipedia and established their own lands elsewhere on the Internet. The first successful one, the Conservapedia Conclave, was founded by a group of former Wikipedia citizens in 2006. The Conservapedians, as they rechristened themselves, were frustrated by a perceived political bias; to counter this, they established a nation where their sociopolitical system was dominant. As of July 2007, Conservapedia has grown to nearly 11,000 articles, or roughly six percent of the En province of Wikipedia.
The second independence movement was led by Larry Sanger, the first and only En Prime Minister. Sanger had become disaffected with Wikipedia after a number of public relations incidents had tarnished the kingdom's reputation at home and abroad. In November of 2006, Sanger founded the Citizendium Republic. Despite a number of organizational similarities, Citizendium has much tougher immigration laws and a much more rigid hierarchy. The republic's meritocracy allows only the most educated citizens powers and privileges possessed by much of Wikipedia's populace.
[edit] Other countries
The Meme Empire, based in the Sea of Subculture and led by territories such as Fark and SomethingAwful, has frequently staged attacks against Wikipedia. Meme raids pillage subculture articles and cause havok among the citizens. The attacks contrast sharply with the insurgency; whereas insurgents often make small attacks across the kingdom, meme raiders often focus their efforts on a specific area to create a much more pronounced and prolonged effect. While the damage is usually quickly undone by Admins, the psychological scars often lead to periods of quarantine in affected areas.
One of the most mysterious and unknown forces on the Internet is the Wikitruth Assembly. The inhabitants and leaders are entirely unknown, but it is presumed that they are all either active inside Wikipedia or have been banished from it. On their small island, the Wikitruthers have build grand museums and libraries filled not with knowledge but with political essays and writings. The writings are highly critical of Wikipedia, condemning everything from the King to members of the Administrator Corps to policies instituted by the government. Rumor has it that a secret library exists containing knowledge forbidden from Wikipedia; the existence of this knowledge outside of the kingdom suggests that one or more Admins is a member of the secretive society.
[edit] Languages
Wikipedia is divided into numerous subdivisions called languages, which are equivalent to provinces. Below are the 60 most populous languages out of the 199 in total.
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- Notes
- In the list above are the official names of each languages. However, shortened, two-letter names are more commonly used in writing.
- Each language is divided into smaller subdivisions called articles. As of 2006, the English Wikipedia contained more than 1,000,000 articles.
- Wikipedia is in an association with several other domains. Called sister projects, these entities strive for more independence from Wikipedia.
- The English Wikipedia is associated with Simple English.
- Alsatian has been renamed Alemannic.
- Moldovan has largely been abandoned for Romanian.
- Serbo-Croatian has been dissolved into Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian.
- Toki Pona is no longer a part of Wikipedia.
[edit] Geography
On the map of the Internet created by XKCD, Wikipedia (and the rest of the Commonwealth) inhabits the southeast quadrant. Its territory neighbors Wikia, Citizendium and Conservapedia (not shown on the map), as well as the Blogosphere and the IRC Isles.
[edit] Economy
While the King has supported Wikipedia at great length, more territory was recently acquired by means of a donating|non-binding tax. A major economic problem is the unauthorized duplication of Wikipedian intellectual property by residents of other nations. Little is being done about this, though some foreigners are moving into voluntary compliance.
[edit] Demographics
The vast majority of Wikipedians are technically literate, and many are young and somewhat leftist. This leads to occasional conflicts. Insomnia is a major medical problem, as is burnout among the sysop caste, who often feel compelled to overwork themselves.
An application for citizenship is simple and is done online. Citizenship is gained almost instantly. Dual citizenship with other nations is allowed. However, citizens can carry more than one identification. There are many residents in Wikipedia who are not citizens. Others are tourists and students who occasionally visit Wikipedia to study from its vast system of knowledge.
[edit] Culture
Wikipedia largely uses Standard English, at least within En, though some terms such as consensus and vandal are not used, having become profanities in the local dialect. While Wikipedia is largely peaceful, fights often break out between immigrant groups, and on sensitive issues such as abortion and religion. Violations of these norms are punishable by law or, in rarer cases, through the very popular tarring and feathering on the pillory. Letters are not sewn into clothes yet.
[edit] Miscellaneous topics
- Communications in Wikipedia
- Transportation in Wikipedia
- Military of Wikipedia
- Holidays in Wikipedia
