On Feb 25, 2007, at 8:00 PM, Stan Shebs wrote:
Philip Sandifer wrote:
There is no good mechanism to have an encyclopedia written by idiots.
I would looove to see that reminder posted on every edit page!
But practically speaking, one of the problems I see is that idiots are not usually self-aware, and they will vociferously defend the extreme cultural importance of the not-yet-in-production "Amazing Lost American Idol Race" show or whatever. (If I've learned anything from WP, it's that there are way more lame TV shows out there than I ever imagined. :-) ) How do you get would-be editors to realize when they don't have anything of value to add?
I find that most editors can be educated effectively with [[Special:Blockip]].
Seriously. We cannot have an encyclopedia written by people who are too stupid to write an encyclopedia. We have to either educate them or dissuade them from contributing - not write a set of rules designed primarily to polish turds.
-Phil