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With normal reading speed averaging 230 wpm, 3 MINUTES is the most that you will ever need to read any Dummipedia article.
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Dummipedia.org was started in 2007 as a direct response from friends and relatives alike who have complained that Wikipedia articles can often times be onerous to read online. As an active contributor of the Malay language Wikipedia between 2005 and 2007, I have also found that while trying to translate some of the English language Wikipedia articles into Malay, I often cannot remember what I was reading by the time I reached the last part of a long article. Oftentimes too, I cannot catch the key facts when the article is too long. To be sure, this is not intended to be a criticism of Wikipedia. On the contrary, I understand that Wikipedia is trying to be as comprehensive as possible in its coverage, and you just can't have your cake and eat it too. However, there is a segment of readers who just want the gist of what the article is about and the mere thought of reading a long article just put them off.

2.   The Pareto principle, also called the 80-20 rule, states that 80% of the facts in any long article are contained within 20% of the article. It was in view of this principle that Dummipedia was created. No article in this encyclopedia exceeds 500 words, unless it is a chronology or where it doesn't make sense to have less. As a Wikipedia companion, every article has a link to the corresponding Wikipedia article for those who want to read more about the particular topic.

3.   I love reading. However, unlike in the past where I always thought that the printed word is gospel truth, I nowadays tend to be very skeptical about the things I read, what with a vast disinformation machine at work in almost every aspect of our lives. Biographies like Mao: The Untold Story, and information that has been declassified have shaken my faith in official versions to the extent that I often felt that there are always two versions to any story: the true story and the official version. Notwithstanding, encyclopedia articles like those of Wikipedia must of necessity follow the official version until the lie is proven and thus, Dummipedia articles, being a summary of Wikipedia articles, must likewise follow suit.

4.   Living in a Buddhist monastery for eight months to investigate about life and the teachings of the Buddha, I found to my surprise that even senior monks are hard put to overcome human desires, a crucial goal of the practice, failing miserably many a times. To be exposed to a very different and spartan lifestyle has rendered me some perspective about life and its attendant problems. Blogging Dummipedia was started in May 2008 to express my personal opinions, whenever I suspect that something is amiss with the official version of the article or for other non-encyclopedia content.

5.   The domain name, Dummipedia.org, was purchased on 27 July 2007 but it was not until towards November that year that the first encyclopedia article was posted. Based on my survey of many wiki sites, I do not anticipate a community contributing articles to this portal. Nevertheless, to be successful, an encyclopedia must have a critical mass in terms of number of articles. Thus, barring a miracle, it will take a long, long time for Dummipedia to achieve some semblance of success. Any assistance, in whatever form and no many how small, will be greatly appreciated. Readers can leave their comments here.

6.   On August 17, 2008, Dummipedia breached the 1,000,000th Alexa ranking, after dangling between the 1,000,000 - 1,100,000 mark for over a month. And on August 21, Dummipedia reached its first 500 articles.