Conservapedia
 Logo | |
Screenshot Conservapedia on Google Chrome | |
Type of site | Online encyclopedia project |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Created by | English wiki community |
| URL | conservapedia |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | Optional (required to change pages) |
| Launched | 21 November 2006 |
Content license | Copyrighted (free use) |
Conservapedia is a wiki-based online encyclopedia designed for Americans who are conservative Christians. It was created by Andrew Schlafly. Conservapedia is a reaction to what its creators see as a "liberal point of view" in Wikipedia.[1] Conservapedia has articles on many things, but most of the site is about politics and religion. It also has lectures and other materials for students, and classes taught by Mr. Schlafly for free. All articles are written from a conservative point of view dominant in the Right-wing of the Republican Party in the United States of America. Conservapedia has some different ideas on community. They have Administrators who have the most power. Users cannot edit at nighttime in the U.S. (because of vandalism), upload images, or do other things they could do at most wikis. Users are granted these rights and can also earn the right to block other users. As of August 2018, Conservapedia owned 47,610 articles.[2]
History
[change | change source]Conservapedia was founded by lawyer Andrew Schlafly because of what he felt was a liberal bias in Wikipedia. He did this with his homeschooled World History class after one of his students used the Common Era dating method instead of the Anno Domini method, which he liked better.
Editing
[change | change source]Unlike Wikipedia, anonymous people are not allowed to contribute to Conservapedia. They have to create accounts that should be using part of their real names (such as the preferred real first name and last initial setup). Edits should follow the site's conservative, Christian point of view. Administrators control every aspect of the site and have the final say in editorial authority. Vandals often edit Conservapedia to mess up the pages because they do not agree with the site's point of view. Some editors are banned for making minor mistakes.
Conservative Bible Project
[change | change source]In part of Conservapedia, editors edit the Bible to remove what they call "liberal bias" from modern versions. They claim that the New International Version of the Bible is written at the seventh-grade level and that it has politically correct language. Critics say that it is not good to rewrite the Bible and say it was bad for them to remove Jesus' prayer in Luke 23:34 and the adulteress story.[source?]
Lenski dialogue
[change | change source]Schlafly got into an argument with Michigan State University researcher Richard Lenski over his twenty-year experiment with e.coli samples he used to show evolution happening. Schlafly mailed Lenski asking for the results. Lenski replied by showing Schlafly his paper on the subject. Schlafly (who did not read the paper) asked for the evidence and Lenski refused to hand him the samples since Schlafly is not enough of an expert. Conservapedians got in a campaign criticizing Lenski.
Critics use this as a way to show how ignorant they think Conservapedia is.
Reactions
[change | change source]Conservapedia has had some bad reactions from people who think that it is full of statements that are untrue.[3] It has also been criticized for supporting some ideas such as creationism.[4]
A site called RationalWiki was created mainly to criticize Conservapedia. Some editors of that site decided that they wanted to vandalize or destroy Conservapedia. Rational-Wiki now mocks and criticizes other things too.
Two other sites, A Storehouse of Knowledge and Ameriwiki, were created as alternatives to Conservapedia.
The Bible Retranslation project has come under criticism by people who feel it is wrong to change God's word.[5]
However, there are still some who praise Conservapedia.
Other websites
[change | change source]- Conservapedia
- RationalWiki
- A Storehouse of Knowledge on the Internet Archive
- Ameriwiki on the Internet Archive
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Conservapedia: Data for Birds of a Political Feather?". NPR.org.
- ↑ "Statistics - Conservapedia". www.conservapedia.com.
- ↑ Clarke, Conor (1 March 2007). "A fact of one's own" – via www.theguardian.com.
- ↑ Brown, Barrett (23 April 2009). "Conservapedia: Bastion of the Reality-Denying Right". The Hive.
- ↑ http://www.riverfronttimes.com/content/printVersion/878131/[permanent dead link] The River Front Times "Hallowed Be Thy Name: A member of the Schlafly clan figures to do the Lord's work by cleansing the Bible of its "liberal bias" Accessed November 13, 2011]
