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Sean Snyder

Engineers and Wikipedia

In lieu of creating my first post to say “FIRST!" I have actually decided to talk about something with relevance.

I’m relatively new here to Design News, and have been getting my feet wet by writing product releases and smaller articles. One resource I heavily rely on when researching new products is the internet, primarily the glorious abilities of Google.

One thing I’ve noticed however when I type in a keyword or acronym such as UHMW, all the search results are places I can purchase UHMW which only occasionally lists what the acronym actually means (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene), but very rarely “what it is” or “what it does.”

Now I have been fairly reliant on Wikipedia as a resource for certain items but it is limited too, and there is always the issue of accuracy. This brings me to my question and my call to action.

Question:
Does anyone know of other web references where unbiased information exists, possibly in a site similar to Wikipedia, but based in engineering?

Call to Action:
You should be building resources on the Internet for other engineers and interested parties.

Now I’m not going to say outright “go build a site for engineers that will rival Wikipedia,” (although it sounds like I just did) but why not add to already existing resources, like Wikipedia.

As an engineer with your focus, you are probably an expert in what you do, so why not document exactly what it is that you do, what you know about your products and materials, and provide a resource for others.

Just a suggestion from an individual trying to understand the massive engineering universe in its entirety.

Wish me luck
  -Sean.