Hi Anthere,
While trying to bring new people to internat.
Wikipedia, I have been asked what was the validation
process in terms of reliability for the article...
I don't exactly know where to find an approach to this
question (there's much to be said) and I don't know
either where to ask the question :-)
Here's the short answer. Wikipedia works on a similar principle to open source
software development. Anyone can pop in and write or change an article and it is
immediately posted. Thus, there are no technological mechanisms to prevent people from
posting nonsense. However, most Wikipedia participants are intelligent people dedicated to
making a high quality encyclopedia. There is a page that shows all the recent changes made
in the database, and at any given time there are many pairs of eyes checking those
additions. When nonsense or vandalism is found it is removed and/or edited immediately.
This sounds like an unreliable system to many people, but it is surprising how well it
works. Ifyour friend is skeptical, have him look around Wikipedia to get a feel for the
quality of the articles.
-- Stephen Gilbert
________________________________
Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
http://www.wikipedia.com
--
_______________________________________________
Download the free Opera browser at
http://www.opera.com/
Powered by Outblaze