Memory Alpha is a
wiki
A wiki ( ) is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or l ...
encyclopedia for topics related to the ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' fictional universe. Created by Harry Doddema and Dan Carlson, it uses the wiki model
and is hosted by
Fandom
A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...
on the
MediaWiki
MediaWiki is free and open-source wiki software originally developed by Magnus Manske for use on Wikipedia on January 25, 2002, and further improved by Lee Daniel Crocker,mailarchive:wikipedia-l/2001-August/000382.html, Magnus Manske's announc ...
software.
, Memory Alpha contains over 56,000 articles and 62,000 images in its
English edition. The site is also available in several other languages.
History
In 1995, Dan Carlson created a personal ''Star Trek'' starship
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...
called Starfleet Ship Registry. By 2000, he had expanded the database's scope and renamed it Starfleet Reference Database, including it as one of the five basic sections of his newly-launched website ''The Gigantic Collection of Star Trek Minutiae''.
In the fall of 2003, Harry Doddema proposed the creation of a ''Star Trek'' wiki in a post on the Flare Sci-Fi Forums. Carlson was interested in the concept and the two of them went to work. Using Starfleet Reference Database as a framework, they named the project Memory Alpha, after the
Federation
A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
's central library from the
''TOS'' episode "
The Lights of Zetar".
Memory Alpha officially launched on December 5, 2003, as a section of the ''Star Trek Minutiae'' website.
In April 2004, Memory Alpha was launched as its own website. In February 2005, Memory Alpha joined
Wikicities (now known as Fandom).
By September, it was the largest project on Wikicities and a central hub for
Trekkies. That month, Memory Alpha received the ''Ex Astris Excellentia'' award from Ex Astris Scientia, a ''Star Trek'' reference site.
The site was featured as the
Sci-Fi Channel's Site of the Week for the week of October 10.
Blogger
Will Richardson called the site "one of the most impressive
ikisout there." By October 5, 2006, Memory Alpha had reached the 20,000 article mark. On June 20, 2007, Memory Alpha reached 25,000 articles.
In 2007, ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' named Memory Alpha one of the 25 Essential Fansites.
Simon Pegg
Simon John Pegg (; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. He and Wright co-wrote the ...
, actor and writer for ''
Star Trek Beyond
''Star Trek Beyond'' is a 2016 American science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Justin Lin, written by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung. It is the 13th film in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and the third installment in List of Star ...
'', used Memory Alpha as a resource in the writing process of the film, even asking the community's founders to name and establish etymology for ''vokaya'', a
Vulcan mineral that enables
Spock
Spock is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), USS ''Enterpri ...
to locate
Nyota Uhura.
''
Star Trek: Discovery''s showrunners have described Memory Alpha as "an amazing resource."
See also
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List of fan wikis
The following list summarizes fan wikis with articles on Wikipedia.
Fan wikis
Notes
References
Sources Book chapters and reference work sections
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Journal articles
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News and magazines
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List of online encyclopedias
This is a list of well-known online encyclopedias that are accessible or formerly accessible on the Internet.
The largest online encyclopedias are general reference works, though there are also many specialized ones. Some online encyclopedias ar ...
*
List of wikis
This article contains a list of notable wikis, which are websites that use wiki software, allowing users to collaboratively edit content and view old versions of the content. These websites use several different wiki software packages.
Table
...
References
External links
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{{Fandom, Inc.
Internet properties established in 2003
Science fiction websites
Star Trek fandom
Fandom (website) wikis
Fan wikis
2003 in American television
American online encyclopedias