Book People Archive

NYT: Growing Wikipedia Revises Its 'Anyone Can Edit' Policy



(registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/17/technology/17wiki.html?pagewanted=all

June 17, 2006 | New York Times

Growing Wikipedia Revises Its 'Anyone Can Edit' Policy

By KATIE HAFNER


Wikipedia is the online encyclopedia that "anyone can edit." Unless you 
want to edit the entries on Albert Einstein, human rights in China or 
Christina Aguilera.

Wikipedia's come-one, come-all invitation to write and edit articles, 
and the surprisingly successful results, have captured the public 
imagination. But it is not the experiment in freewheeling collective 
creativity it might seem to be, because maintaining so much openness 
inevitably involves some tradeoffs.

At its core, Wikipedia is not just a reference work but also an online 
community that has built itself a bureaucracy of sorts -- one that, in 
response to well-publicized problems with some entries, has recently 
grown more elaborate. It has a clear power structure that gives 
volunteer administrators the authority to exercise editorial control, 
delete unsuitable articles and protect those that are vulnerable to 
vandalism.

(snip)
 .
 .
 .
======================================================================== 
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/17/technology/17wiki-side.html

June 17, 2006 | New York Times

Trouble Spots

Selected Wikipedia articles that site administrators have placed under 
restrictions to protect them from vandalism or editing wars. Most 
articles are only temporarily protected.

Protected Articles
Cannot be edited.

2004 United States election voting controversies, Ohio
Cuba
Islamophobia
 .
 .
 .

Semi-Protected Articles
Users can edit only if they have been registered with the site for at 
least four days.

Palestinian refugee
Michael Jackson
Falkland Islands

(snip)
 .
 .
 .