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Memory Alpha is a wiki encyclopedia for topics related to the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe.〔no byline (October 14, 2006). "Web watch: Star Trek sites abound", ''The Record'', p. F1〕 Conceived by Harry Doddema and Dan Carlson in September 2003 and officially launched on December 5 of that year, it uses the wiki model and is hosted by Wikia, Inc. on the MediaWiki software. Memory Alpha contains over 38,000 articles in its English edition alone , making it one of the largest wiki projects. The site is also available in several other languages,〔Crockett, Christine (September 17, 2006). "A 40-year 'Trek'", ''Sun Journal'', p. B1.〕 including Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, Esperanto, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish and Swedish. ==History== Memory Alpha aims to create a comprehensive database for all fans, but was not conceived as a wiki. Two concerns spurred its creation: many ''Star Trek'' references of the time were incomplete, and the most promising would shut down regularly, like the site TrekPulse, which closed inexplicably in late 2005 to be reborn the next year as TrekCore. Doddema and Carlson christened their project Memory Alpha, after the Federation's largest information archive, from the original series episode "The Lights of Zetar". The two decided on a wiki format, which allowed for more collaboration than other formats available. As Carlson said in the Charlotte Observer, "The idea I latched onto with the wiki concept is you can spread the work around. Everyone can pitch in and go in on their own special interest." After experimenting with TikiWiki software, they switched to the MediaWiki platform, finding it less cumbersome. The platform of choice for Wikimedia proved to be, in their opinion, more stable and efficient, and they brought a testsite online on November 11, 2003. Memory Alpha officially launched on December 5 that year. The site gained momentum in the following months, aided by a mention on the ''Star Trek'' fan site "TrekNation" on December 23. Memory Alpha reached 1,000 articles by January 12, 2004, but on March 23, the site's database was accidentally erased during an upgrade of the MediaWiki software. Although this caused six weeks of work to be lost, the project expanded to include Dutch and German versions on April 10 and May 14 respectively. It remained stable until the following year, when the fees associated with hosting the site became more than the founders could afford. In February 2005, Memory Alpha switched hosting servers and joined Wikia, a free for-profit wiki-hosting company started by Wikimedia Foundation board members Jimmy Wales and Angela Beesley. The site remained stable on Wikia, opening a Swedish site on May 5 and a French one on November 5. It also received several distinctions that year, such as the ''Ex Astris Excellentia'' award from Ex Astris Scientia, a ''Star Trek'' reference site, in September 2005, and it was featured as the Sci-Fi Channel's Site of the Week for October 10, 2005. ''Star Trek: Voyager'' and ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' writer/producer Mike Sussman joined the community that year as well.〔Some (but not all) of Memory Alpha's distinctions can be found on Memory Alpha's announcements page. Among the announcements are links to the (Ex Astris Excellentia award ) and (SciFi newsletter ). Mr. Sussman's identity on Memory Alpha has been verified as authentic; see his talk page for more details.〕 Technical issues led the MediaWiki software to believe Memory Alpha was started on November 23, 2004, and despite the inaccuracy, this date was adopted ''ex post facto'' as Memory Alpha's "birthday". The latter part of 2005 and early 2006 saw several new features added to the site. Among these was a peer review process, implemented on September 21, 2005 in response to questions about the process by which articles become featured.〔The issue at hand was originally raised by user AJHalliwell on July 15 of that year, and a subsequent (discussion ) resulted in the creation of Memory Alpha's Peer Review section. According to the (page history ) of the Peer Review page, it was created by user Cid Highwind at 22:53, 21 September 2005 UTC.〕 On November 20 of that year, Memory Alpha began a "Babel" program, inspired by and modeled after that of the Wikimedia Commons, to help users who speak the same language. Other recent innovations include an area for user projects, sometimes referred to as WikiProjects on other wikis, and coverage of fan films. The site has remained popular since its inception, although its growth has slowed in recent times. For instance, it was the largest project on Wikia〔Barnett, Cynthia (September 1, 2005). "Wiki, mania", ''Florida Trend'' 48 (5): 62.〕 until October 2005, when its article count was surpassed by Wookieepedia and Uncyclopedia. Today, it has approximately 1300 registered users (80 of whom are active) and upwards of 17 million page views since its move to Wikia. , it receives on average, slightly more visitors and page views per day than the official ''Star Trek'' website according to Alexa.〔Any user count on Memory Alpha should be treated as prone to error because Memory Alpha's users are pooled with those of other Wikia sites. A full list of editors can be found on Memory Alpha's maintenance page, but the estimate of 80 users is based on a voluntary listing of users (who call themselves "archivists"). Page views, which are easier to gauge, can be found on the statistics page. The Alexa claim is based on a (page view comparison ) on February 6, 2005.〕 Memory Alpha has influenced the design of other wikicities dedicated to information about television franchises, including The X-Files Wiki () and the 24 Wiki (). It is a resource used by mainstream journalists for information on ''Star Trek'' related issues.〔Barron, James "It's an Auction, Jim, But Not as We Know It." New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Jul 6, 2006. pg. B.3〕 Influential edublogger Will Richardson hailed the site in his 2006 book ''Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms'' as "one of the most impressive () out there". On June 12, 2007, Memory Alpha reached a milestone of 25,000 articles with the creation of the article Robert Iscove.〔(Forum:MA Press Release - Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki )〕 ''Entertainment Weekly'' named Memory Alpha one of the 25 Essential Fansites in 2007. In comparing it to other ''Star Trek'' sites, the reviewer wrote, "Memory Alpha wins out for its handsome, intuitive presentation and its overwhelming mass".〔Vary, Adam B. (December 28, 2007). "(25 Essential Fansites )", ''Entertainment Weekly'' 971: T9.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Memory Alpha」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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