FAQ:
What is Freebase?
Freebase.com is home to a global knowledge base: a structured, searchable, writeable and editable database built by a community of contributors, and open to everyone. It could be described as a data commons. Freebase.com is enabled by the technology of Metaweb, which is described at www.metaweb.com.
Why is registration required?
Freebase is still in alpha with a limited number of users as we get things tidied up. With our Beta launch, Freebase will be open for general read with no registration required.
How do people use Freebase?
Freebase.com allows anyone to contribute, structure, search, copy and use data, through either the Freebase.com web site or through application program interfaces (APIs). Freebase makes it easy put data in and pull data out for any commercial or non-commercial purpose.
How is Freebase related to Metaweb?
Freebase was built by the team at Metaweb using technology they developed to allow extremely large volumes of data to be collected, organized, connected and modified by a community of contributors, developers, publishers, and people who just plain like data. It’s also a great example of what’s possible using Metaweb’s technology.
How is Freebase different than the Wikipedia?
It’s an apple versus an orange: each is deliciously different. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia with information arranged in the form of articles. Freebase is more of an almanac, organized like a database, and readable by people or software. Wikipedia and Freebase both appeal to people who love to use and organize information. In fact, many of the founding contributors to Freebase are also active in the Wikipedia community. Whenever Freebase and Wikipedia cover the same topic, Freebase will link to the Wikipedia article to make it easy for users to access the best of both sites.
How is Freebase different from other public databases (i.e. Googlebase)?
The data in Freebase is all linked together and can be collaboratively edited. To use an older Web model, it’s kind of like the difference between an indexed collection of personal homepages and the Internet itself.
How did you get the name Freebase?
Free + Database = Freebase.
Who can contribute data to Freebase?
Anyone who registers can contribute to the Freebase database at www.Freebase.com.
What are the rules for using the data in Freebase?
Anyone can use the data in Freebase. The data can be used for commercial or non-commercial purposes, as long as the data is attributed to Freebase.com and the community that created it. All the data contributed to Freebase.com is made available under a Creative Commons License known as an “Attribution” or “by” license. This ensures that all contributions are open and accessible to anyone.
How does Freebase.com ensure the data contributed is correct?
Freebase.com is an open and collaborative site. Every contributor can review, add to, or edit the database. We believe that when data is subject to peer review in an open community, errors and other “bad data” will be corrected faster than in a centrally controlled editorial model. In the limited cases when spam or vandalism occurs, we will rely on a combination of automated detection and community vigilance to make repairs quickly.
Does Freebase charge users?
It doesn’t. Freebase.com is a public service. It’s like a park or a playground for people who like data. It’s free and will always be free. That means it’s free to contribute data, to search data, to republish data, to use the data to build other applications.
