Uncyclopedia
Created | Updated Apr 24, 2006
The web site 'Uncyclopedia' is a humorous parody of Wikipedia, though it claims the opposite and describes itself as an 'encyclopedia of misinformation, nonsense and utter lies.' It was founded in January, 2005. Unlike h2g2, which usually provides useful or factual information in a light-hearted way, all Uncyclopedia entries are completely made up. It is run using the same MediaWiki software that Wikipedia uses, so that the two look almost exactly alike.
Like other wikis, any page can be edited by anyone regardless of whether they have an account there. This can sometimes result in vandalism, but, also like other wikis, someone usually restores an earlier version of the page within a short period of time, and repeated vandalism results in users being banned from the site. Unlike other wikis, if an administrator considers the 'vandalism' humorous, it will stay put.
Requirements for Articles
All Uncyclopedia articles must:
- Be funny.
- Be untrue.
- Be of a vaguely encyclopedic length and style. (usually)
However, as is often the case with wikis, these 'standards' are subject to change if enough people and administrators can agree. Unfunny, true or short articles are often met with quick deletion.
Controversial nature
Sometimes, Uncyclopedia articles can contain profanity and what some might consider racism. Articles tend to be judged on humour, not on good taste.
In-house Jokes
Uncyclopedia has many inside jokes, which can be confusing to newcomers.
UnNews
Uncyclopedia's 'UnNews' feature is a parody of Wikipedia's 'WikiNews' which writes articles about current events in a newsroom-like format. UnNews however doesn't merely keep track of wacky news in the real world but actually makes up completely ficticious news stories out of thin air, usually parodying real world events. These are quite often motivated by an openly political bias.
Making up quotes
If you read a quotation on Uncyclopedia, don't believe it because it's not real.
A popular pastime for Uncyclopedians (as Uncyclopedia researchers are called) is making up fake quotes. The most popular person to attribute these fake quotes to is Oscar Wilde but there are others.
A popular page without a few fake quotes at the top is rarely seen, and the most popular of these is probably Making up Oscar Wilde quotes.
Site logo
Originally, the Uncyclopedia logo was a potato, but after Wikipedia's adoption of a white ball constructed from puzzle pieces for its logo, Uncyclopedia invented the 'puzzle potato' seen on the site today. It looks like the wikipedia logo, only brown and misshapen, or 'rotten' as it's been described.
The site logo is frequently replaced by other parodies for short periods of time, such as holidays. For example, on 22 November, 2005, the first anniversary of Memory Alpha, they renamed the site 'Trekkiepedia' for the day. Another noteworthy Main Page parody was 'Uncyclopedia Plus!' which poked fun at sites requiring paid subscriptions.
