Wikipedia losing editors at alarming rate: Study

According to a study Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia is losing editors at an alarming pace, having already lost 49,000 people.

The figures come from the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, which tracked edits made by 3 million active Wikipedia contributors in 10 different languages. The study claims that the same figures for 2008 indicate that the online encyclopedia then lost only 4,900 people.

Contributors who use their own knowledge to edit and add articles to the site keep it going. Without contributors the site would simply fold up and the project would vanish.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales

According to researcher Felipe Ortega, the diminishing number could be due to the increasing number of rules governing edits on the site. He also suggests that it could be due to the result of the number of articles on the site.

However, Wikipedia says it is trying to engage a bit more at the moment with very knowledgeable and people who are experts. It dismisses fears of its imminent collapse. Michael Peel of Wikimedia UK counters that Wikipedia is definitely not dying.

The site has had its fair share of scandals and in some instances some notable figures were declared deal well before their passing. Volunteers now face online arguments with every change.

Wikipedia plans to introduce a new 'flagged revisions' editing system whereby changes would need to be approved by 'top editors' prior to going live.

However, while concerns about the sites future may voiced in some circles, the site still retains its top spot in page traffic and is the most liked by blog posts.