[Foundation-l] Why "Wikipedia" and not "the Wikipedia"?

[David Gerard]

2009/7/7 Samuel Klein <meta.sj at gmail.com>:

> Once a name or monument transcends what it originally named and is
> used by reference to describe similar things elsewhere, there is a
> tendency to add the definite article -- the Earth, the Sun, the
> Sphinx, the Oracle, the Colosseum.  I do see people running wikis of
> any sort on their own or their company site, with a comment that they
> have 'set up their own wikipedia'.  This would be consistent with
> calling the original Project 'the' Wikipedia.


That's common usage, which we're trying to drive back out by pointing
out that's a trademark and "wiki" is the generic term ;-)

Of course, then you have people using "wiki" to mean "Wkipedia" ...


- d.