CS73N

Yuriko Review Of Wikipitaka

Yuriko Tamura

5-19-06

CS73N

Wikipitaka

 

            Wikipitaka, to say the least, is a philanthropic endeavor to unify the English translation of the Buddhist text into one internet platform.  With this ambitious goal, Fah Sathirapongsasuti’s plans for the project display full potential for success with ginger consideration of various intrinsic and extrinsic factors. 

Fah’s extensive research convincingly indicates that the idea of a complete online version of the Tipitaka is viable in the current internet business environment.  His data suggests that there are currently few competitive projects, if not only indicating little realistic progress.  Fah recognizes that for one of the world’s largest religions, Buddhism, there is a lack of an online significant spiritual source that is both searchable and united.  His projection of future increase in internet usage among third world countries further supports hope for the project’s success.  In addition, the academic and financial connections he presents in his business plan are impressive, demonstrating the level of commitment to quality and long-term service.

Realistically, because of the intrinsic immensity of the Wikipitaka plan, there is concern of whether there is enough available time and resources for completion, as was seemingly the problem for other competitive lines.  The innovative means of building the web site through the employment of a wiki, however, promises a unique solution to accelerating the process.  A wiki will certainly allow multiple participants to simultaneously work on one text without risking overlap.  Fah is careful to provide references to reputable academic researchers to ensure credibility.  Nevertheless, in a project as big as this that requires numerous scholars, what is ultimately going to be important and hardest in keeping the endeavor alive will probably be to maintain reasonable relationships among established individuals and organizations. While everyone’s end goal may be the same, personal convictions may cause conflict with regards to such an overarching piece of literature concerning faith.

Overall, Wikipitaka is a remarkably well-thought out venture, as Fah clearly convinces us of his sincerity in providing benefit for all of Buddhism’s followers.  In addition, ideas such as providing historical information and discussion forums expand the range of audiences that will gain benefit; on the other hand, every extra aspect from here on will only decentralize from the focus.  Ultimately, I think the key to success will be to find a balance between various ambitions and to limit the scope to what is realistic by careful evaluation of both referential and human resources available.


Comments

From fahshine - 2006-05-22

Thank you, Yuriko, for the critique,

You make the same excellent comment on the maintenance issue as Nina. Yes, it can get costly and harder for the initial group of scholars to work on this, but if the website becomes that big, there must be enough active members that are willing to help out. I hope to include those active and knowledgeable members in the academic board later on.

The personal conflict, as far as I am concerned, is one of the common problem any wiki has to face. It is hard to prevent it. The way wikipedia resolves this is to let the board compromise and give the final decision.

I feel thankful for your thoughtful comments.

Thank you again.

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Last Modified 2006-05-19