Evolution of a wiki page

In January 2005, Jon Udell made a screencast (8m 29s) showing the development of the Wikipedia entry on the umlaut (two dots over a vowel) used in the names of heavy metal bands like Motörhead.

The page started in April, 2003 with a single sentence from an anonymous contributor:

The "heavy metal umlaut" over the ö in the names of Motörhead, and the Blue Öyster Cult has led to the term "spandex and umlaut circuit" being used to describe the heavy metal band touring scene.

Since that time, 930 people have edited the page and they have made 1,511 changes, as shown below. Udell documents an instance of vandalism (obscenity), which was quickly reversed, discussion of several themes, and the evolution of the document structure and table of contents.

Udell's original video (including brief obscenity)
PG version (obscenity edited out)

Edits Number of people Total edits

51 1 51

50 1 50

17 1 17

15 1 15

13 3 39

12 2 24

10 1 10

9 3 27

8 1 8

7 4 28

6 6 36

5 9 45

4 12 48

3 34 102

2 160 320

1 691 691

Total 930 1511

Edits	Number of people	Total edits
51	1	51
50	1	50
17	1	17
15	1	15
13	3	39
12	2	24
10	1	10
9	3	27
8	1	8
7	4	28
6	6	36
5	9	45
4	12	48
3	34	102
2	160	320
1	691	691
Total	930	1511

(These figures are as of 8/25/2009).

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on unofficial pages of California State University, Dominguez Hills faculty, staff or students are strictly those of the page authors. The content of these pages has not been reviewed or approved by California State University, Dominguez Hills.