[WikiEN-l] Wired: Wikipedia to Color Code Untrustworthy Text

[FT2]

Color coding to show aging of text (Wikitrust) has been around for ages -- I
think since shortly after the Seigenthaler incident or some 2006 incident,
or some research around 2006 ish.

Maybe this means the owners will run it live or something. I don't know.

FT2


On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 2:19 AM, Nathan Russell <windrunner at gmail.com>wrote:

> I'll just say I'm a bit surprised to be hearing it from Wired first.
>
> Pakaran
>
> On Sun, Aug 30, 2009 at 8:24 PM, Keith Old<keithold at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Folks,
> >
> > http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/wikitrust/
> >
> > Wired reports:
> >
> >
> > *"Starting this fall, you’ll have a new reason to trust the information
> you
> > find on Wikipedia: An optional feature called “WikiTrust” will color code
> > every word of the encyclopedia based on the reliability of its author and
> > the length of time it has persisted on the page.*
> >
> > *More than 60 million people visit the free, open-access encyclopedia
> each
> > month, searching for knowledge on 12 million pages in 260 languages. But
> > despite its popularity,
> > **Wikipedia*<
> http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/wikitrust/www.wikipedia.org>
> > * has long suffered criticism from those who say it’s not reliable.
> Because
> > anyone with an internet connection can contribute, the site is subject to
> > vandalism, bias and misinformation. And edits are anonymous, so there’s
> no
> > easy way to separate credible information from fake content created by
> > vandals.*
> >
> > *Now, researchers from the **Wiki Lab* <http://trust.cse.ucsc.edu/>* at
> the
> > University of California, Santa Cruz have created a system to help users
> > know when to trust Wikipedia—and when to reach for that dusty
> Encyclopedia
> > Britannica on the shelf. Called
> > **WikiTrust*<http://wikitrust.soe.ucsc.edu/index.php/Main_Page>
> > *, the program assigns a color code to newly edited text using an
> algorithm
> > that calculates author reputation from the lifespan of their past
> > contributions. It’s based on a simple concept: The longer information
> > persists on the page, the more accurate it’s likely to be.*
> >
> > *Text from questionable sources starts out with a bright orange
> background,
> > while text from trusted authors gets a lighter shade. As more people view
> > and edit the new text, it gradually gains more “trust” and turns from
> orange
> > to white."*
> >
> > More in story
> >
> > *Regards*
> >
> > **
> >
> > *Keith*
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
>
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