[Wikipedia-l] The future of Wikipedia

[Tim Chambers]

I've read with interest the comments by Krzysztof, Larry, and Bryce. I'd
like to summarize how I view the relationship between Wikipedia, the Nupedia
chalkboard, and Nupedia.

I have perused the list of contributors to Nupedia and am impressed by their
credentials. But it is unlikely that I will every achieve the level of
authority in any subject that would enable me to be counted among their
ranks. Having said that, I will add that as an amateur intellectual with
eclectic interests, I find Wikipedia to be a refreshing outlet for my
interest in sharing the smattering of facts that I ''have'' mastered.

Getting to the point, I do not appreciate the direction suggested by
Krzysztof to attempt to "improve" the reputation of Wikipedia. For one
thing, let's see some concrete examples of existing [[patent nonsense]]
''today'' in the Wikipedia so we can gauge the actual extent of the problem
to which Krzysztof alludes.

As long as the Internet is crawling with [[induhvidual]]s who spread hoax
e-mail [1], misinformation will ''not'' be stamped out. ''Caveat lector'', I
say! I agree with Larry that those who are uncomfortable with the potential
for dubious information on Wikipedia should concentrate on Nupedia and its
wiki chalkboard.

What hasn't been mentioned here is the value Wikipedia has in adding a new
dimension to discourse and knowledge transfer. I first discovered it at the
original [[WikiWiki]], whose purpose has rightly remained relatively narrow
and focused on subjects of interest to computer scientists. That dimension
evolves from the fundamental concepts that wiki embodies -- the ability to
add hyperlinks with extreme ease. No other Web site offers anywhere close to
the potential for interconnecting human concepts so easily.

Sorry if this seems rambling. I don't have any more time for editing. But
I'll close with this. Remember the plot device popular in fish-out-of-water
movies and TV shows about how the extraterrestrial/mermaid/caveman learns
about American culture by watching television? Well, all you Singularity
fans out there -- think about what we're creating at the Wikipedia. It --
more than any other World Wide Web site -- has the potential to become the
ultimate storehouse of human knowledge, ready-made for absorption by the
first artificial consciousness that some expect will eventually somehow
emerge on the 'Net. Maybe Wikipedia will be the grounds for its adolescent
development. Then it will graduate to the Nupedia and get ''really'' smart.
:-) Or maybe before that, the extraterrestrials will get ahold of this
knowledge, infiltrate our society, and have us for dinner. :-)

<>< Tim

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[1] see http://www.geocities.com/tbchambers/vaccine.htm