[WikiEN-l] New York Times: Wikipedia to Limit Changes to Articles on People

[Keith Old]

G'day folks,

The New York Times reports on flagged revisions:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/technology/internet/25wikipedia.html?partner=rss&emc=rss


"Wikipedia<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/wikipedia/index.html?inline=nyt-org>,
one of the 10 most popular sites on the Web, was founded about eight years
ago as a long-shot experiment to create a free encyclopedia from the
contributions of volunteers, all with the power to edit, and presumably
improve, the content.


Now, as the English-language version of Wikipedia has just surpassed three
million articles, that freewheeling ethos is about to be curbed.

Officials at the Wikimedia
Foundation<http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Home>,
the nonprofit in San Francisco that governs Wikipedia, say that within
weeks, the English-language Wikipedia will begin imposing a layer of
editorial review on articles about living people.

The new feature, called “flagged revisions,” will require that an
experienced volunteer editor for Wikipedia sign off on any change made by
the public before it can go live. Until the change is approved — or in
Wikispeak, flagged — it will sit invisibly on Wikipedia’s servers, and
visitors will be directed to the earlier version. "

(More in article)

Regards



*Keith Old*