Wikiquote is one of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation, running on MediaWiki software. Based on an idea by Daniel Alston and implemented by Brion Vibber, the goal of the project which began as an outgrowth to Wikipedia Famous Quotations is to produce collaboratively a vast reference of quotations from prominent people, books, films, proverbs, etc. and to be as proper as possible in regard to the details of the quotations and also providing the appropriate human reference of the quotation. Though there are many online collections of quotations, Wikiquote is distinguished by being among the few that provide an opportunity for visitors to contribute.[2] Wikiquote pages are cross-linked to articles about the notable personalities on Wikipedia.[3]
Initially, the project was created solely in English; a later expansion to include additional languages was started in July 2004.[citation needed]
As of May 2016, there are 89 versions.[4] As of May 2016, thirty-one versions each have more than 1,000 articles. The largest Wikiquote is the English project with over 26,500 articles, followed by the Italian, Polish, Russian, Czech, German, Portuguese, and Spanish sites with over 5,000 articles each, and then by the Slovak, Ukrainian, Persian, Bosnian, and French (which was restarted in December 2006, after being taken down for legal reasons). Sixty language versions have 100 or more articles.[4]