Recently, I was re-watching the 1981 incarnation Douglas Adam's Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I love this book. Its brilliant. The idea that the Galaxy is by incompetent beaureacrats is believable.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in the TV series is described as this:
Im many of the more relaxed systems in the outer eastern rim of the galaxy, the Hitchhikers Guide has already supplanted the great encyclopedia Galactica as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom.It struck me that this description largely fits the ubiquitous Wikipedia.
For though it has many omissions, contains much that is apochryphal, or at least wildly innacurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects.
First, it is slightly cheaper.
And secondly, it has the words Dont Panic inscribed in large friendly letters on the cover.
Wikipedia has supplanted any given printed encyclopedia due to the fact its slightly cheaper. Its free in fact. And; you dont need to buy a book shelf to store it on.
The Hitchhikers Guide was also apparently written by people on the ground. Writers who lived on the planet they were writing about.
Wikipedia is written by people who live and experience what they contribute.
So, in short, Wikipedia's model is based on the Hitchhikers Guide to Galaxy. Wikipedia can also be accessed via a device in your pocket.
Now, we just need Dont Panic coded into the home page.
"Brain the size of the planet and they tell me to take you up to the bridge"