Creativity Within Structure

Traditionally, poetry is structured. Almost all sonnets follow the same rules. They are composed in iambic pentameter and have three quatrains and a couplet. It is within these clearly stated parameters that creativity thrives. Given freedom, many times poems disintegrate. Free verse poetry is too often disjointed. The extra degree of choice given to the poet in line and stanza placement makes much of the work jumpy and unclear. The same could be argued for the online, publicly edited encyclopedia, Wikipedia. While Wikipedia accepts input from anyone with access to the internet, the format in which contributions must be submitted is much more stringent and it is for this reason the website thrives.
Wikipedia is designed to be welcoming to all. Users do not need to know HTML or any other type of code to be able to edit and manipulate the contents of a page. Nor do they have to be fluent in one specific language. Originating in English, the site now has over one million articles in other languages, eliminating even typical communication barriers from the equation. Wikipedia emphasizes the importance of the opinions of all by allowing even those without an account to submit changes. In these instances, edits are identified simply by the IP address of the computer from which they were made.
While Wikipedia is an equal-opportunity forum, the rules within the website are unyielding. There are three main rules of engagement: all articles must be written from a neutral point of view meaning that all sides of the argument are presented without bias, all facts presented must be verifiable through other reliable sources, and similarly one cannot present original research on any of the Wikipedia pages.
As is the case with poetry, it is with constraints that much of the best work is produced. Free verse encyclopedias would be difficult to read and understand. Without rules regarding sources of information, facts gleaned from Wikipedia would have no value because there would be little assurance that they were correct. Wikipedia is not a collection of opinions, but rather one of substantiated ideas. Non sequiturs and vandalism are quickly corrected by the masses. The rules that everyone plays by foster the overall high quality of the production.
The strictly enforced rules present on Wikipedia add a level of professionalism to a forum that could have easily become an outlet for hearsay. Fortunately, these procedures do not limit the wide variety of creative content present in Wikipedia’s online volumes. Wikipedia is a database of the new millennium for its pages contain not only the dry material traditionally featured in encyclopedias but also stories behind terms defined no where else. I found one such term during a recent search of my last name on Wikipedia. One article came up on the subject of ‘Double Fanucci.’ Reading the article, I learned not only about the first computer game, Zork, in which Double Fanucci was an infinitely complicated card game, but also some of my own history. The dates of the game’s development at MIT were concurrent with those of my father’s graduate education at the institute. I asked the apparent namesake if he could regale me with any stories about the creation of the game. And he did. Thank you, anonymous Wikipedia users, for teaching me a little something about my roots.