Decentralized Collaborative Knowledge Management using Git

Natanael Arndt, Michael Martin

Abstract: Apart from documents, datasets are gaining more attention on the World Wide Web. An increasing number of the datasets on the Web are available as Linked Data, also called the Linked Open Data Cloud1 or Giant Global Graph2. Collaboration of people and machines is a major aspect of the World Wide Web and as well of the Semantic Web. Currently, the access to RDF data on the Semantic Web is possible by applying the Linked Data principles3, and the SPARQL specification4, which enables clients to access and retrieve data stored and published via SPARQL endpoints. RDF resources in the Semantic Web are interconnected and often correspond to previously created vocabularies and patterns. This way of reusing existing knowledge facilitates the modeling and representation of information and may optimally reduce the development costs of a knowledge base. As a result of the collaborative reuse process, structural and content interferences as well as varying models and contradictory statements are inevitable.