MetaGlossary adds user input
January 29th, 2007 by David Weinberger
MetaGlossary is a definition aggregator that scrapes online glossaries and other sources. It’s got about 2,000,000 English words and phrases, and is particular useful when the words are new or you’re looking for a phrase. (Try “truthiness,” “alternative fuels“, “mission accomplished,” or “miserable failure.”)
Until today it’s been algorithmically driven. The new version of the beta lets anyone suggest a new or improved definition. You can also give a thumbs up or down to an existing definition.
It’s a good start. It’ll be fascinating to see what other social structures emerge. E.g., do we need to be able to edit existing definitions? A way to indicate that two definitions are good but need to be forked? More of a reputation system? It’ll be fun to watch this site… [Tags: metaglossary wikis dictionaries web2.0 everything_is_miscellaneous ]
