Larry Sang

Lawrence Mark Sanger, known as Larry Sanger, is an American philosopher and internet project developer who played a key role in the creation of Wikipedia. He served as the editor-in-chief of Nupedia, an earlier online encyclopedia, and proposed the use of a wiki to accelerate content creation, leading to the launch of Wikipedia in 2001. Sanger coined the name 'Wikipedia' and formulated many of its foundational policies, such as 'Neutral point of view' and 'Ignore all rules'.

Sanger's involvement with Wikipedia was relatively brief; he was laid off in early 2002 and subsequently became critical of the project, expressing concerns about its credibility and perceived ideological bias. He has argued that Wikipedia undervalues expertise and has accused it of having a left-wing slant. Following his departure, Sanger pursued other encyclopedic ventures, including Citizendium and Everipedia, and founded the Knowledge Standards Foundation.

Born in 1968, Larry Sanger developed an early interest in philosophy, deciding at age 16 to pursue it as a life's work. His experience in high school debate influenced his views on neutrality, as he found articles that failed to present issues fairly to be infuriating. While studying philosophy at Reed College, Sanger became fascinated with the internet's potential for educational publishing. He established a listserver to connect students and tutors and moderated a libertarian philosophy discussion group. Sanger earned his doctorate in philosophy from Ohio State University in 2000, with a dissertation on epistemology. Prior to his involvement with major encyclopedic projects, he co-ran a website analyzing Y2K news reports.

Sanger's journey into large-scale online collaboration began with Nupedia, an ambitious but slow-moving online encyclopedia where he served as editor-in-chief. Frustrated by Nupedia's glacial pace, Sanger proposed the adoption of wiki technology to expedite article development. This proposal led to the creation of Wikipedia in January 2001, initially conceived as a feeder system for Nupedia's rigorous peer-review process. Sanger coined the name 'Wikipedia' and was instrumental in shaping its early structure and policies, including the core principles of 'Neutral point of view' and 'Ignore all rules'. He acted as Wikipedia's chief organizer, inviting contributors and drafting initial guidelines.

Sanger's tenure at Wikipedia was short-lived. He was laid off in early 2002, and his departure marked the beginning of his critical stance towards the project. He has since expressed concerns that Wikipedia has become 'broken beyond repair,' arguing that its credibility is undermined by a disregard for expertise and an alleged left-wing ideological bias. In 2006, Sanger founded Citizendium as an alternative to Wikipedia, aiming to foster a more expert-driven environment. He later joined Everipedia and established the Knowledge Standards Foundation, continuing his work on knowledge organization and accessibility.

“to study philosophy and make it my life's work”

“And so I'd look up articles about those things, and I was always furious when I came across an article that failed to present one side fairly or at all. The worst instances were when [the author] would just come out and say what their position is. It just struck me as being really unfair.”

“The history of philosophy is full of disagreement and confusion. One reaction by philosophers to this state of things is to doubt whether the truth about philosophy can ever be known, or whether there is any such thing as the truth about philosophy. But there is another reaction: one may set out to think more carefully and methodically than one's intellectual forebears.”

“Instead of doing that, why don't you come and work on this idea that I've had?”

“found that it was a fascinating problem to organize people online to create encyclopedias”