I support this. I think that they should be encouraged not to protect the pages unless absolutely necessary. One possibility: suppose you let them know that you'll be willing to "mentor" and defend the work (as you have already done), with my full support.
I haven't looked into this, so I'm not commenting on the situation as it exists. But speaking generally, I would say that when we are working on a standards-based work, the standard must not be changed mid-stream and the standard takes on a role as a non-negotiable organizing principle similar to "Wikipedia is an encyclopedia".
In order to finish something like a book of "World History" you need a shared understanding of what it will be. And to complete something that will be of practical use, we need to work to standards.
--Jimbo