One of the most interesting features of the web is the way in which a large number of essentially amateur or experimental reference works have appeared, some of which could well become the basis of a new form of reference publishing. There are scores of worthwhile examples, but a few illustrate particularly well some key features of the web. This site began as little more than a collection of bookmarks to dictionaries on the web. But it grew rapidly, and Beard developed a useful framework for classifying and accessing dictionaries, professional and amateur, bilingual and subject-specific, traditional or web compilations. The site now covers hundred of dictionaries, and it is an ideal jumping-off point when looking for dictionaries on the web.
Aggregators bring together resources which can be found at hundreds of other sites on the web.
There are plenty of other models for reference aggregation and integration. Note that these examples of web distribution, aggregation and integration, leave the editorial and compilation process undisturbed. But the web is in many ways an ideal medium for organizing and creating a reference work. The central challenge that faces any such collective enterprise is the difficulty of ensuring adequate editorial standards of consistency and reliability, but the technologies of the web can be harnessed to this end. It is just what the name implies - an online dictionary with over 12,000 extensively hyperlinked terms.