Wikipe-tan
| Site Mascot | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General Information | |
| Name | Wikipe-tan |
| Universe/Origin | Futaba Channel |
| Designer | 🇯🇵 Kasuga |
| Debut | 2006-01 |
| Representation | |
| Represents | 🇺🇸 Wikipedia |
| Appearance | |
| Hair Color | Light Blue |
| Eye Color | Blue |
Wikipe-tan (Japanese: ウィキペたん) is a moe character that represents Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.
History
On February 22 2003, an anonymous user started a discussion about ideas for a Wikipedia mascot[1]. More than 20 ideas were proposed, though it was only about three years later that another anonymous user suggested Wikipe-tan on January 5 2006[2].
She was designed by Wikipedia user Kasuga, who is also an admin on the Japanese site, and published on the Futaba Channel around January 5 2006; it is unclear whether the suggestion on the mascot page above already referred to her, or if Kasuga drew her a few days later, since the original Futaba pages do not exist anymore and were not archived.
Status
There is no official Wikipedia mascot, so she only has an unofficial status. She is still used on some sections of Wikipedia like the WikiProject Anime and manga or Admin coaching, and illustrates some anime related articles in various languages.
Other notable mascot propositions include the Wikipede and the Miwiki, both even having more votes on the mascot suggestions page than Wikipe-tan (respectively 45 and 35 vs 31).
Profile
She has two sisters, Commons-tan and Wikiquote-tan, who represent Wikimedia projects that are related to Wikipedia.
See Also
External Links
- English Wikipedia Main Page
- Wikipedia:Wikipe-tan on Wikipedia
- Wikipedia:Mascot on Wikipedia
- Category:Wikipe-tan on Wikimedia Commons, containing artworks of her
Notes and References
- ↑ Original version of the Wikipedia mascot entry on the Wikimedia Meta Wiki
- ↑ Current version of the Wikipedia mascot entry, Wikipe-tan section