Ekşi Sözlük (Turkish pronunciation: [ecˈʃi sœzˈlyc], lit. 'sour dictionary', stylized as ekşi sözlük) is a Turkish collaborative hypertext dictionary, a type of social network based on dictionaries.[2] It is one of the largest online communities in Turkey and one of the oldest Turkish websites still in operation. Unlike what its name may imply, Ekşi Sözlük is not a dictionary in the strict sense; users are not required to write correct information. As an online public sphere, Ekşi Sözlük is utilized by users for information sharing on various topics ranging from scientific subjects to everyday life issues, but also used as a virtual socio-political community to communicate disputed political contents and to share personal views.[3]
 | |
 Screenshot of the page showing the topic "vikipedi" as of 2023. | |
Type of site | Online dictionary, social networking service |
|---|---|
| Available in | Turkish |
| Owner | Ekşi Teknoloji ve Bilişim A.Ş.[1] |
| Founder(s) | Sedat Kapanoğlu (known as "ssg" in the website) |
| URL | eksisozluk |
| Commercial | Website and Mobile App |
| Registration | Required for posting and voting, not required for viewing |
| Launched | 15 February 1999 |
| Current status | Active |
History
editEkşi Sözlük was launched by self-taught coder Sedat Kapanoğlu in 1999, for humorous information sharing and communicating with his friends, as he was inspired by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. When it was launched, Ekşi Sözlük was an interactive part of a satire website sourtimes.org which was named after the Portishead song "Sour Times", and it was named "Ekşi (Sour)" for this reason.[4][5][6]
Ekşi Sözlük has been successful, many other websites that use this concept has emerged, like İTÜ Sözlük in Turkish.[7] Turkish sociologist Zeynep Tüfekçi says it is like "Wikipedia, a social network and Reddit rolled into one".[8]
On February 21, 2023, access to the website was blocked in Turkey by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority of Turkey.[9][10] On March 2, 2023, the 4th Ankara Criminal Court of Peace decided to remove the access barrier, but the decision was reversed by a higher court and it remained blocked[11] until January 22, 2024.[12]
Rules and structure
editEnrollment periods to the dictionary and the criteria of acceptance are changeable.[13] Ekşi Sözlük does not accept new authors continuously; there are specific times in which new authors are accepted. There is a waiting period for new members who want to become authors in which they must post at least 10 entries. All entries are inspected according to the dictionary rules and their quality, and if they pass inspection, the new user becomes an author. However, this process might take from months to years.
Titles are limited to 50 characters in length. Entries have no length limit.
Newcomer, Newcomer awaiting approval, Registered reader, Praetors, and Hacıvat are some of the user roles in Ekşi Sözlük.[13]
Since there are no practical [a] restrictions on entries, moderators and informers are responsible for catching and deleting any inappropriate entry. Informers are usually the older generation authors who voluntarily report any bad content to moderators for examination. If the moderators find the entries inappropriate, they are deleted.
Site statistics[14] are updated on a daily basis. There are 300 to 400 posts on average for each author. More than half of the authors are at the age of 18–25 and the number of male users is two times more than that of female ones.[citation needed]
No capital letters are allowed in the posts.[15] This prevents all-caps shouting.[citation needed]
Mobile application
editAn official application for Ekşi Sözlük has been released in 2017 for iOS and Android platforms.[16]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ There are a few policies on the website governing how an entry should be structured. They are not strictly enforced.
References
edit- ^ "ekşi sözlük kullanım koşulları". ekşi sözlük (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ "General Introduction and Roots of Ekşi Sözlük". 解析新書 Table Anatomy. 13 May 2020. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- ^ Hatice Akca (2005). The Internet as a participatory medium: An analysis of the Eksi Sozluk website as a public sphere (M.A. dissertation thesis). University of South Carolina. ProQuest 746773010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Buyukdemir, Burak (9 November 2010). "6 Kasım Etohum Kampı Ankara - Sedat Kapanoğlu - Eksisozluk.com". Archived from the original on 31 January 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2021 – via Vimeo.
- ^ "Ekşisözlük adı nereden çıktı? - Etohum". Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- ^ Yücel, Deniz (29 March 2014). "Beliebte Internetseite Ekşi Sözlük: Die Seite, die alles weiß". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
- ^ "Katılımcı Sözlükler (Ekşi Sözlük, İtü Sözlük, Uludağ Sözlük v.b) - Caner Erden". Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- ^ Kantrowitz, Alex (10 July 2013). "How The Founder of Turkey's Original Social Network Explained It To His Microsoft Co-Workers". Forbes. Archived from the original on 16 December 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ^ "BTK'den Ekşi Sözlük engeli!" (in Turkish). Cumhuriyet.com.tr. 21 February 2023. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ "Ekşi Sözlük hakkında erişimin engellenmesi kararı" (in Turkish). Gazete Duvar. 21 February 2023. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ "Turkish court once again blocks access to popular social network Ekşi Sözlük". Gazete Duvar. 3 February 2023. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- ^ "Ekşi Sözlük için erişim engeli kaldırıldı". Webrazzi (in Turkish). 22 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "istatistikler - ekşi sözlük". Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ^ Trivially verifiable by looking at any post at the website at eksisozluk
.com - ^ "Ekşi Sözlük'ün kendi uygulaması yayınlandı! - Teknoloji Haberleri". 22 July 2017. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
External links
edit
Media related to Ekşi Sözlük at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website (in Turkish)