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| URL | urbandictionary.com |
|---|---|
| Slogan | Define Your World |
| Commercial? | Yes |
| Type of site | Slang dictionary |
| Registration | Required only for editing |
| Available language(s) | English |
| Owner | Aaron Peckham |
| Created by | Aaron Peckham[1] |
| Launched | 1999 |
| Alexa rank | 780 |
| Current status | active |
Urban Dictionary is a Web-based dictionary of slang words and phrases. As of 2009, the site contains over four million definitions. Submissions are regulated by volunteer editors and rated by site visitors, who tend to be youths rather than adults. Time magazine's Anita Hamilton placed Urban Dictionary on her 50 best websites of 2008 list.[2][3]
Contents |
History
The site was founded in 1999 by Aaron Peckham, then a freshman computer science major at California Polytechnic State University.[citation needed]
Content
The definitions on Urban Dictionary are meant to be those of slang or subculture words, phrases, and phenomena not found in standard dictionaries. Most words have multiple definitions, usage examples, and tags. Many of the entries on Urban Dictionary are "coarse", "profane" or "offensive".[citation needed] A high percentage of entries are sexual.[citation needed] Many appear to be neologisms.[citation needed] Although some of the entries come with pictures, users cannot directly upload pictures into the site.
Racist, homophobic or sexist terms are acceptable as long as their definitions only document the use of such slurs and are not themselves abusive. Site guidelines recommend submitters and volunteer editors shun definitions that include in-jokes, personal references, non-celebrities, nonsense, advertisements, or descriptions of sexual violence.[4] The website does little to prevent definitions with those attributes from appearing.[citation needed] Urban Dictionary's chief definition of "Urban Dictionary" reads: "A place formerly used to find out about slang, and now a place that teens use as a "burn book" to talk about celebrities, their friends, let out their sexual frustrations, show off their racist/sexist/homophobic/anti-(insert religion here) opinions, troll, and babble about things they know nothing about, etc."[5]
Quality control
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Quality is regulated democratically at two levels. First, registered users vote to accept or reject newly submitted definitions. Definitions appear in the dictionary after receiving a sufficient differential of "accept" over "reject" votes.
Secondly, definitions already in the dictionary can be voted "up" or "down" by any site visitor. The definitions appear in "descending order" of highest gross votes.
Books
In October 2005 a selection of definitions from Urban Dictionary were published in book form. A second book was published in 2007.
- Urban Dictionary: Fularious Street Slang Defined (by Aaron Peckham, 320 pages, Andrews McMeel, 2005, ISBN 0740751433)[6]
- Mo' Urban Dictionary: Ridonkulous Street Slang Defined (by Aaron Peckham, 240 pages, Andrews McMeel, 2007, ISBN 0740768751)
References
- ^ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-89509618.html
- ^ http://www.time.com/time/podcast/2008/50_best_websites/
- ^ http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1809858_1809955_1811527,00.html
- ^ Urban Dictionary: Guidelines
- ^ http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=urban+dictionary Retrieved March 2009
- ^ - In the hot seat: 'Ginormous' Web site makes phat book - look it up - sacbee.com
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
