[Foundation-l] Two Ways to Wikipedia - a concept for more effective editing

[Ziko van Dijk]

Dear all,

Again and again, I see the saying that Wikipedia does only work in
practice, but not in theory. Well, that depends on the theory. If one
describes Wikipedia as an anarchy or "wisdom of the masses" or "swarm
intelligence", that theoretical approach will certainly fail.
Wikipedia is community-based, and it is a myth that "anyone can edit".
In reality, unregistered and new users meet a lot of "resistance", as
Ed Chi has called it. Quick reverts, often accompanied by a rude
comment, are the result and lead to frustrations.

Therefore I would like to suggest to reconsider the idea of "everyone
can edit". My concept will make it possible to people have an
influence on Wikipedia in two ways:
* Report: Many people are not interested in becoming a Wikipedian,
they just want to correct a typo or add a link or an information. They
are mostly interested only in one peticular subject. Would'nt it be
better not to let them edit, but to let them report? Their reports
could be treated by a system similar to the current OTRS (support)
team we already have.
* Become a serious editor: For those who would like to edit, to become
a Wikipedian, we must build an easy and secure path. Someone who
candidates as a Wikipedian should be required to leave an
e-mail-address (to facilitate communication) and present himself a
little bit (why he wants to become a Wikipedian, what he is interested
in). This can be in perfect anonimity. Then it would be great to link
him with a mentor, someone who is following his steps and helps him to
fit into the community. Edits by this newbie has to be reconfirmed by
his mentor or other people we know of that they treat a newbie
politely.

With such a two-way-system, we would prevent spam and vandalism and
help reducing frustrations. We would still make it possible for
"instant collaborators" (IP users) to contribute (by "reporting").

Some could say that this system would highly modify the Wiki
principle. But in fact reality has already modified it. Our openess
exists only in theory, in practice we scare a lot of good willing
people away.

Kind regards
Ziko


-- 
Ziko van Dijk
NL-Silvolde