In the last ten years, the Internet has opened up incredible amounts of information to ordinary citizens. But using the Internet can be like walking into a library where the books are all lying on the floor in piles. While tools like Google allow some structured search, much of the data from such searches is outdated or of questionable value. Some web enthusiasts have taken up the task of organizing information through a democratic means that only the Internet allows: an encyclopedia of the people, by the people, and completely free to copy and distribute.
This people’s encyclopedia’ of the Web (a free site called Wikipedia) has provided a unique solution by inviting individuals to participate in the process of rationalizing and updating web con- tent. At the heart of this movement are wikis, web sites that allow users to directly edit any web page with one click of the mouse.
Wikipedia (the largest example of these collaborative efforts) is a function
A. is accessible by all the passersby.
B. can be edited by everyone.
C. is run by ordinary people.
D. is built to the taste of common citizens.
Ever since AL Gore invented it, the Internet has been a paradise for those with a creative attitude to facts. Students, for example, commission and sell essays with such ease there that online "paper mills" devoted to this trade are one of the few dotcom business models still thriving. With a few clicks of a mouse, a student can contract out any academic chore to "research" sites such as Gradersaver. com or the Evil House of Cheating.
One market opportunity, however, frequently creates another. The past few months have seen a rapid rise in interest in software designed to catch the cheats. The subscriber base of Turnitin, a leading anti-plagiarism software house based in Oakland, California, has risen by 25% since the beginning of the year. Around 150,000 students in America alone are under its beady electronic eye. And in Britain, the Joint Information Systems Committee, the unit responsible for advising the country’s universities on information
A. its superb management
B. the thriving of academic cheating
C. its big electronic eye
D. the test of its software by the Joint Information Systems Committee
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