[WikiEN-l] [Wmfcc-l] [Wikipedia-l] "Approved" versions on Wikipedia FAQ

[David Gerard]

On 30/08/06, Andrew Lih <andrew.lih at gmail.com> wrote:

> Does this make the 5 minute cut? :)


I sent it to a couple of places just now, including Bill Thompson
(BBC) who sent a very nice reply. So not quite ;-)

I've put it on Meta. Please hack away at will, and move somewhere
better if sensible:

    http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/2006_proposed_approval_for_anonymous_edits

(that's a terrible article name. You can tell I've been writing on the
work wiki too much. Even if it is MoinMoin.)


> I think the premise of the FAQ is off in its current form. I am
> worried by the "we" part, meaning the mythical monolithic Wikipedia
> community. (ie. Why not make this an opportunity to show that
> Wikipedias have their distinct culture and are at different stages of
> development?)


In this case because it was an immediate response to the Bill Thompson
and Platinax articles. I was trying very hard to keep it *really
simple* and clear because journalists don't have time to read press
releases closely - they have to be able to get your message by
skimming.

There's huge piles of detail I left out ...


> I think the announcement should make clear:
> - There has always been a desire for a better reader experience
> - The larger Wikipedia communities have turned their attention from
> growth to quality


yep, these are important.


> - The German Wikipedia has initiated an experiment with a
> "nonvandalized" and "checked" versions (nb: terminology may need to be
> tweaked)


Yeah. I didn't give them names, but I hope I got this idea across.


> - This "potentially" may allow for a mechanism other than blunt
> protection for preventing vandalism


Jimbo wanted to emphasise "this is to make things wide-open" because
the press coverage had been "OH NOEZ WIKI IS CLOSED", so this probably
isn't as neutral as it might ideally be.


> - The greater Wikipedia community hopes to learn from this pilot project


I think I've got that in. Platinax emailed me to clarify and I said
that it's quite possible it might go badly and we cancel the idea -
but we're giving it a go.


> - The English and other Wikipedias, with their own norms and cultures,
> may or may not adopt the German initiatives


I left out that bit, but I think I have in that we are trying.


> PS: Would be nice to have a pointer to a meta page (if it exists)
> describing the German initiative. If I had not attended the Wikimania
> 2006 summit on the top floor of Pound Hall with Danny, Kurt, G.
> Maxwell, Jimmy, Raul654, Kelly Martin, et al, I would not have known
> these things. And I'm a bit concerned we're neglecting to use the wiki
> to share this knowledge.


It wasn't a matter of fuss until the press grabbed it and ran with it,
conclusively describing the Wikipedia elephant to the public as a rope
holding together walls in a fan shape at the top of several trees with
a spear and thirty snakes sticking out the side [*]. The feature is
probably still way too premature to warrant this attention ... but
it's got it anyway.


- d.


[*] http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/1/?letter=B&spage=3