Synchronizing Polymer Definitions and Terminology with Wikipedia

doi:10.1515/ci.2014.36.2.19

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Synchronizing Polymer Definitions and Terminology with Wikipedia

Published/Copyright: March 27, 2014

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From the journal Chemistry International Volume 36 Issue 2

The Polymer Division is working on a project called Updating Wikipedia: Synchronizing Polymer Definitions and Terminology (project 2011-013-2-400). The idea for this project was born due to the fact that some of the Wikipedia definitions in Polymer Science deviate from the approved IUPAC definitions that are published in Pure and Applied Chemistry.

In fact, someone who is looking for a definition in the internet will with a high probability end up in a Wikipedia entry. So, the idea was to counter-check the IUPAC definitions with the corresponding Wikipedia entries and find a way the make them compatible.

Basically, there are three cases:

a. there is a definition in Wikipedia and in IUPAC

b. there is a definition only in IUPAC

c. there is a definition only in Wikipedia

Case a

Wikipedia is already a major source of information on many topics, and our goal is to enhance the quality of existing articles rather than simply to impose IUPAC’s viewpoint. To that end, we first consult the Wikipedia chemistry community. We then introduce a text box in the corresponding Wikipedia pages that just contains the original text of the IUPAC definition, clearly labelled, with a link to the relevant publication in Pure and Applied Chemistry. Notes can be added there but they may be rather appropriately incorporated into the Wikipedia text, along with any necessary corrections.

Most important is that the IUPAC-labelled text of the definition supplements the Wikipedia text, so that the reader can quickly find the information required.

Case b

When there is no Wikipedia entry, then we start a new entry based on the IUPAC definition using the same text box as above. Since Wikipedia articles require more than just the pure, formal definition, a more detailed explanation, often including historical background, has to be provided. This must be written at several levels, to satisfy the demands of the wide spectrum of readers, from high-school students, to journalists, patent lawyers, and experienced scientists.

Case c

In cases where there is a Wikipedia article with no relevant IUPAC definition, we should consider developing suitable IUPAC documents or writing an extension (supplement) to existing documents during the next revision. Such a situation gives us the opportunity to react to the evolution of science and fill gaps in a timely manner.

It may be a good idea to maintain a crosscheck with Wikipedia entries for all terms defined in new IUPAC projects from now on, and to systematically add IUPAC definitions into Wikipedia wherever appropriate.

One of the concerns with Wikipedia as an open encyclopedia is that anybody can change the text of an entry, thereby compromising the integrity of the IUPAC definition. This is still possible with the text box. However, a sentinel algorithm called a “bot” can guard the definition. The original definition will be marked with a green checkmark. If the original content of the window is changed, the bot detects this within minutes and the checkmarkturns to a red x; this way, the reader knows that something has been changed and the author can react accordingly.

At present we have a list of more than 200 terms to be checked, and so far we have placed 21 definition boxes and 3 new entries. We plan to continue working through these and, where appropriate, add links to the IUPAC Polymer Education website (www.iupac.org/polyedu) and to the IUPAC “Brief Guide to Polymer Nomenclature” (www.iupac.org/project/2008-032-1-400). There are over 100 very brief articles, called “stubs,” for which Polymer Division members might make a valuable contribution by expanding the content. So far, the Wikipedia community’s reaction to our work has been mainly positive and reasonable without any serious rejections. Our contributions appear to be welcome and the project successful.

A positive side effect of the IUPAC link to Wikipedia is that statistics are available to show how often a page is visited. Previously, the impact of IUPAC recommendations on Nomenclature and Terminology could not be measured since IUPAC terms are not routinely cited. Now it is possible to get a sense of how many people are reading the recommendations, particularly in pages that are new to Wikipedia.

Updates reported by Martin Walker (walkerma@potsdam.edu, Department of Chemistry, SUNY College at Potsdam, Potsdam, NY 13676 USA) and Michael Hess (hess_iupac@yahoo.de, Secretary IUPAC Polymer Division)

www.iupac.org/project/2011-013-2-400

Published Online: 2014-03-27

Published in Print: 2014-03

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ci.2014.36.2.19