• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Martin Hofmann

a personal blog about technology, communications and other stuff that interests me

  • English
  • Deutsch
  • Archives
  • About
  • Contact

From Wikipedia to Citizendium

by Martin · Sep 16, 2006

There will be no logged-out editing and no anonymous editing [in Citizendium].  Anyone may participate, but all must be logged in under their own real names (we will use the honor principle to begin with), and with a working e-mail address.  Where Wikipedia shares the culture of anonymity found in the broader Internet, the Citizendium will have a culture of real-world, personal responsibility.

Larry Sanger

Larry Sanger, one of the founders of Wikipedia, has started a new project called Citizendium, which initially is supposed to be a “progressive fork” of Wikipedia. One of the key differences is the inclusion of editors (vs. authors) who must state their credentials on a user profile page. With this system, Citizendium hopes to fight the “widespread anonymity that, according to Sanger, has led to a “troll problem” in Wikipedia. He also want to make Citizendium attractive to academics, “so that they can contribute in a way they feel comfortable with”. He explains his approach in detail in an essay called “Toward a New Compendium of Knowledge“.

Trying to get rid of anonymity and trolls is a good idea. It will bring who-edited-my-wiki-page feuds to an end and make it easier to call out people for editing an entry a certain way. The proposed editorial system could be a challenge, though. Larry Sanger suggests that Citizendium editors and “chief subject editors” act as “facilitators and organizers, not dictators”. I think it is a great idea in theory but in the end, when there are differences in opinion, somebody has to make a decision. But overall, I find the notion of taking personal responsibility for writing or editing entries very appealing.

Larry Sanders wants to have software and servers for Citizendium set up by September 30th.

Filed Under: Innovation, Technology

Copyright © 2023 · No Sidebar Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Flickr
  • Google Plus
  • YouTube