[WikiEN-l] Edit Wikipedia Week is coming. How not to bite the n00bs?

[Gregory Maxwell]

On Nov 6, 2007 11:48 AM, Monahon, Peter B. <Peter.Monahon at uspto.gov> wrote:
[snip]
>         The goal is not a 100% perfect encyclopedia.  The goal is a
> COMMUNITY building an encyclopedia.  BUILDING, not BUILT.  It will never
> be "built".  It will and should always be "in process", "under
> construction", IMPERFECT!

The direct form of process over product, that the purpose is community
and not a useful encyclopedia, has been explicitly rejected by the
English Wikipedia community last I checked. It's certainly a disputed
position.

Besides, there is a big difference between "a necessarily imperfect
work in progress" and
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_S._Patton&curid=42090&diff=169628093&oldid=169618698
 (first diff on English WP RC when I loaded it) ... At least this
instance of vandalism is probably not going to material harm to
anyone.