[Wikipedia-l] Re: I like BBS:es

[Jimmy Wales]

Erik Moeller wrote:
> If we want to provide such a gateway, it has to use the same or a  
> similar authentication procedure as the mailing list -- just being  
> authenticated by your Wikipedia account would not suffice, because the  
> Wikipedia account itself is not authenticated.

I'm not sure I follow you here.  What authentication is necessary?

We do have the option of "posts only by subscribers" turned on, but
that's solely to prevent spamming, as far as I know.  What additional
reasons for authentication might there be?

It seems unlikely to me that spammers would bother to abuse a
web-posting interface.  It would be a lot of work, and the one thing
spammers like to avoid is work.

--Jimbo