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Wikipedia is now likely the top return on almost any web search you do. But how did it get to be that way? The collaboratively edited online compendium of human knowledge is at once reviled by highbrow scholars who make strict rules about its use as a cited resource, and at other times lauded as the greatest example of the power of human cooperation and the web. Joseph Reagle has just completed an exhaustive study of the resource entitled Good Faith Collaboration: The Culture of Wikipedia. The book sheds light on how tens of thousands of volunteers overcame great obstacles—lack of scholarly experience, and nearly insurmountable differences in viewpoint—to build a culture that, in spite of all reason, works. Joseph, a Berkman Fellow, sat down with David Weinberger to share some key insights from his research.