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January 29, 2007

MetaGlossary adds user input

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 ]

Posted by D. Weinberger at January 29, 2007 09:12 AM

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