So wikipedia is now reaching 1 in 1000 web users according to Alexa, which is amazing, but also incredibly scary. The proportion of IPs making edits now is much much higher than it was a year ago when I first began editing. I think this is cause for concern... 90% of these IPs probably won't come back, but if this continues we're going to be continually peppered with edits by people who don't understand the norms of wikipedia, resulting in a breakdown of community, NPOV, etc.
I think we should take some steps to combat this problem, and here they are:
* Major spikes should be anticipated and highlighted in advance. I had no clue this CNN story was coming (and maybe no one else did either), but for stories where people know a spike is coming it should be advertised prominently beforehand, so that regular hands will know a flood of newcomers are arriving
* Communication with IP editors should be improved. Personally I'm in favor of simply locking them out - as has been pointed out before, there's nothing really any more anonymous about an IP than a logged in user (maybe even less anonymous), and it's much harder to communicate with IPs consistently. Alternatively maybe forced talk pages (i.e. you MUST read your notes if you are an IP before you can edit) or the like would be better.
* There should be longer intervals between publicity. The Google effect is getting hard enough to keep up with, and I'm afraid the process of indoctrinating new people with NPOV (which I think is the most problematic concept) and getting them to respond to community standards is beginning to break down as the experienced hands get overwhelmed by new folks. We need to relax and consolidate what we've got before we try to grow more - otherwise we'll just bloom and die off, so to speak, killed by our own excesses.
Just some thoughts, Saurabh
------ "In any event, if the occupation proves long-lasting, the American soldiers, who are today carrying Iraqi infants in their arms, will eventually chase them down alleys, beat them and kill them, as our [IDF] soldiers do." -- Gideon Levy, in Ha'aretz