Wookieepedia
Screenshot of Wookieepedia in 2021, prior to the introduction of the FandomDesktop skin and launch of Fandom's new logo
Type of site
Informative site / Wiki
OwnerFandom, Inc.
Created by
  • Chad Barbry
  • Steven Greenwood
RevenueAdvertising
URLstarwars.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedMarch 4, 2005
Current statusActive with over 185,000 articles (as of August 2023)
Content license
CC BY-SA

Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki is an online encyclopedia for information about the Star Wars universe[1]—including information on all the films, the books, as well as Clone Wars, The Clone Wars and its introductory film, Rebels, the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and any upcoming Star Wars material. It is a wiki focused on the Star Wars universe with some articles reaching up to 60,000 words,[2] and is written almost entirely from an in-universe perspective. The name is a portmanteau of Wookiee and encyclopedia, a pun on the name of Wikipedia. The logo, too, is a visual pun showing the incomplete second Death Star as opposed to Wikipedia's incomplete "jigsaw logo".

History

Wookieepedia was conceived by Steven Greenwood and created at the request of hosting site Fandom by Chad Barbry in 2005.[2] On 6 February 2005, Greenwood and Barbry discussed details on a Wikipedia talk page which led to the wiki's creation. Barbry also conceived the name Wookieepedia. On March 4, 2005, Wookieepedia was launched at Fandom (then called Wikicities).

In 2015, it drew 3.7 million monthly visitors.[3] On November 28, 2005, Wookieepedia was selected as the Sci-Fi Channel's "Sci-Fi Site of the Week."[4]

As of August 2023, the English-language version of the wiki contains over 185,000 articles,[5] making it the seventh-largest[6] Fandom in terms of article count, ahead of other wikis such as Memory Alpha and WoWWiki. Fandom hosts Star Wars wikis in many other languages, and Wookieepedia also coordinates its efforts with the German language wiki called Jedipedia.net and the Polish language Biblioteka Ossus.[citation needed]

After the Star Wars Expanded Universe was declared non-canonical to the future works and rebranded as Star Wars Legends in April 2014, Wookieepedia implemented separate "Canon" and "Legends" tabs for subjects that appeared both before and after the continuity reboot. "Legends" tab only includes information from sources released prior to the 2014 reboot, while "Canon" tab contains information from works published from 2015 onwards, including the movies released under The Walt Disney Company. An exception to this rule was made for the content of the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG, which has seen several expansions after 2015 but is still considered "Legends".[7] Both tabs include information from Episodes I-VI and The Clone Wars TV series.

In late March 2021, Wookieepedia held a vote to ban deadnaming, which triggered debate within Star Wars fan circles around the naming of the non-binary artist Robin Pronovost's article on the site.[8][9] In response to the situation, Fandom, the wiki hosting service which hosts Wookieepedia, updated its terms of use policy to prohibit deadnaming across its websites.[10][11][12][13] On behalf of the Wookieepedia administration team, Fandom also permanently banned two administrators, citing a pattern of "bullying and intimidation." In addition, Wookieepedia's administration apologized to Pronovost for the duress that they endured as a result of the website's deadnaming vote.[14]

Reception

Actors in the Star Wars franchise have used Wookieepedia to have a better understanding of the Star Wars universe and to better portray their characters, including Felicity Jones who portrayed Jyn Erso in the 2016 film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story[15] and Alden Ehrenreich who portrayed young Han Solo in the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story.[16]

References

  1. ^ Bjortomt, Olav (August 18, 2007). "The arts online". The Times. London. Archived from the original on August 21, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  2. ^ a b McLean, Thomas J. (May 5, 2007). "Wookieepedia tracks 'Star Wars'". Variety. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  3. ^ Greenburg, Zack O'Malley (April 17, 2015). "Inside The Star Wars-Stoked Business of Wikia's Wookieepedia". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
  4. ^ Ken Newquist (November 28, 2005). "SciFi Site of the Week". Sci-Fi.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  5. ^ "Statistics". Wookieepedia. Wikia. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  6. ^ "Big wikis". Wikia Community Central. Wikia. February 20, 2019. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.[better source needed]
  7. ^ Hidalgo, Pablo (April 17, 2015). "SWCA: One Big Story - Star Wars Canon Panel Liveblog". StarWars.com. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  8. ^ "Forum:CT:Amendment to naming policy for real-world transgender individuals". Wookieepedia. Fandom. March 29, 2021. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  9. ^ "History: Robin Pronovost". Wookieepedia. Fandom. Retrieved April 2, 2021.[better source needed]
  10. ^ Baron, Reuben (March 29, 2021). "Fandom Rules Against Deadnaming on Star Wars' Wookieepedia". CBR.com. Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  11. ^ Whitbrook, James (March 30, 2021). "How Star Wars' Biggest Fan Wiki Found Itself in a Fight Over Trans Identity". io9. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  12. ^ Tamburro, Paul (March 30, 2021). "Star Wars' Wookieepedia agrees to stop deadnaming trans people". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  13. ^ Gambito, Arturo (March 30, 2021). "Star Wars: acusan a Wookieepedia de transfobia y el sitio cambia sus políticas". Tomatazos. Archived from the original on March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  14. ^ Bricken, Robert (April 2, 2021). "Fandom Bans 2 Wookieepedia Admins for 'Bullying and Intimidation'". io9. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on April 3, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  15. ^ Delahunty-Light, Zoe (March 24, 2017). "6 things I learnt from the Star Wars: Rogue One home release (Felicity Jones used Wookieepedia A LOT)". gamesradar. Archived from the original on September 18, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  16. ^ "The Big Event – Alden Ehrenreich interview (podcast)". The Big Event. May 4, 2018. Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.

External links

Star Wars
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Categories