| URL | urbandictionary.com |
|---|---|
| Slogan | Define Your World |
| Commercial? | Yes |
| Type of site | Slang dictionary |
| Registration | Required only for editing |
| Available language(s) | English, Spanish |
| Owner | Aaron Peckham |
| Created by | Aaron Peckham |
| Launched | 1999 |
| Alexa rank | 662 (January 2012[update])[1] |
| Current status | Active |
Urban Dictionary is a Web-based dictionary of slang words and phrases, which contained over 6 million definitions as of October 2011[update].[2] Submissions are regulated by volunteer editors and rated by site visitors. Time's Anita Hamilton included it on her 50 best websites of 2008 list.[3][4]
Contents |
The site was founded in 1999 by Aaron Peckham while he was a freshman computer science major at California Polytechnic State University. One of the first definitions on the site was "the man", referring to "the faces of the establishment put in place to 'bring us down.'”[5]
The website was referenced in a 2011 District Court complaint by ATF agents to document the meaning of the vulgarism 'murk' as used in a criminal threat. Its also consists of names and slang. [6]
The definitions on Urban Dictionary are meant to be those of slang or ethnic culture words, phrases, and phenomena not found in standard dictionaries. Most words have multiple definitions, usage examples, and tags.
Visitors to Urban Dictionary may submit definitions without registering, but they must provide a valid e-mail address to facilitate the submission process. Entries become the property of Urban Dictionary.[7] Before they are included in the dictionary, all new definitions must be approved by editors.
Editors are given this set of guidelines to use when approving or rejecting definitions[8]:
Persons submitting definitions must provide a valid e-mail address which is used as a simple process to establish good faith. Every submission must be approved by editors before it is added to the dictionary; editors must register with the site using a valid e-mail address[9] and may vote to accept or reject newly submitted definitions.
After receiving a sufficient differential of "accept" over "reject" votes, definitions are published to the dictionary. There may be hundreds of entries for a term or word, so various and often conflicting "histories" exist.[10] [11]
Individual entries cannot be edited by the registered users en masse.
Definitions already in the dictionary can be voted thumbs "up" or "down" by any site visitor.
Once a definition is included in the dictionary, editors may review it and remove it if it is against the guidelines. However, those definitions which have proven popular by voting cannot be removed, and an editor may only recommend removal of five definitions per 24-hour period.[12]
On the Urban Dictionary Forum,[13] registered members can discuss enhancements or problems they experience with the site, and vote for changes to be made. Forums are places of lively discussion; recent subjects include: "Allow users to upload sounds and images",[14] "Get rid of stupid definitions from being first on lists",[15] and "Allow editors to delete more than 5 bad definitions per day".[16]
As of January 2011[update], the site contains over 5.6 million definitions. As of April 2009[update], an average of 2,000 are submitted every day; the site receives approximately 15 million unique visitors per month, with 80% of users being younger than 25.[5] As of January 2011[update], Urban Dictionary's Alexa rating is 688,[17] with a rating of 322 in the United States[17] and 17,571 sites linking in.[17]
Urban Dictionary has been featured on Tosh.0 with special "words of the week".
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