On 23/01/2008, Steven Walling <steven.walling(a)gmail.com> wrote:
If I'm understanding you correctly, you're
talking about the lack of
English speaking experts on topics about non-English speaking
countries?
No, I'm talking about credentialed/degreed people (and their pretenders) who
can't bear the idead of writing a thousand words on the Simpsons. The kind
of person that finds Citizendium attractive is the same that thinks that the
Galileo article must morally be longer than the Paris Hilton one. Wikipedia
doesn't make that kind of distinction. In other words, they're just like a
wiki version of Britannica, which the world doesn't want or need. No person
of my generation (I'm 20) would ever choose the online version of Britannica
over Wikipedia, even if it was free.
If they haven't already, I imagine they will work out a system for
subjects that Universities don't offer degrees in (although plenty of
people have degrees in Media and could well write quality articles
about the Simpsons). At first, they are likely to concentrate on
traditional subjects, but once they've got those to a decent level, I
expect they'll move onto the less traditional stuff.