Steve Lefevre (lefevre.10@osu.edu) [050417 16:39]:
I'm pitching an idea for a postmodern wikipedia. What I mean by that is that there are multiple concurrent versions of an article. Instead of a zero-sum game where only one text can inhabit a title at any time, a user can choose from different branches. The user basis this decision on who the authors are, and how many people agree with the text. The immediate wikipedia problems that this solves are:
- Edit wars. This is common with articles covering controversial
topics, such as abortion. Proponents of different truths will build and maintain their side of the story, including counter arguments, instead of trying to destroy the other side. There is no negative sign-off, so the only thing the article measures is how many people agree with it, not how many disagree.
Multiple forks save edit wars, but I'm entirely unconvinced they're a good thing for the reader. I think NPOV is Wikipedia's really startling and useful innovation, on a par with attempting to write an encyclopedia by the wiki process.
- d.