[Wikipedia-l] comment on wikipedia

[Jimmy Wales]

Gareth Owen wrote:
> Optim <optim81 at yahoo.co.uk> writes:
> 
> > Do you think it's true? 
> 
> No.  I've seen no evidence of this process.

Still, I think there is something to it, and I have strong doubts that
a wiki or similarly "wide-open" collaborative process could produce a
great novel or play or poem.

An encyclopedia is particularly well suited to the wiki process,
because it isn't really _supposed_ to be individualistic in that way.
_Greatness_ for an encyclopedia article involves a pretty healthy dose
of "averaging" as one of it's essential components.

Britannica sells a delightful volume of classic articles, many written
by prominent people with an axe to grind.  They're great essays, but
as encyclopedia articles, to my mind they fall short significantly of
the kind of neutrality that we're so good at.

--Jimbo