[WikiEN-l] 10 Things You Did Not Know About Wikipedia

[Andrew Lih]

First off, kudos to Erik as most of the ten are quite well written and
help to enlighten.

On 3/11/07, Erik Moeller <erik at wikimedia.org> wrote:
> On 3/11/07, Steve Bennett <stevagewp at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Agree with Geni. The point you're making here is a bit tortured and
> > explained in a very convoluted way. Something like "No change in
> > Wikipedia is permanent" would be better, with explanation about how it
> > can be undone etc.
>
> I have made this point in exactly this way many times in person and
> observed the enlightenment on people's faces. Perhaps it is something
> that works better from face-to-face, but nevertheless, I'd be cautious
> not to rely only on "insider opinion" as to whether this line of
> argument "clicks" or not.

I'd have to agree with the chorus here that #4 is likely too confusing
because it's too technocratic. Read it again:

"What you can do is make a copy of an article, and implicitly
choose this copy to be the one shown to all readers by default. No
existing copy is ever touched again, which allows us to backtrack as
needed and to revert unwanted changes. It also allows you to refer to
Wikipedia articles using something called a "permalink" in the bottom
left corner -- a link to a copy of the article that will never change,
for better or for worse."

You're starting to talk about how a database works. Once you start
talking database details to the layperson, you've lost 90% of your
audience and, hence, the point.

Also, I'm not sure what "the point" the reader should walk away with.
Is it "Everything is preserved" or "Nothing is ever lost"? If so,
change the point to be that.

-Andrew (User:Fuzheado)