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Citizendium

Quantum

14:37 / 11.04.07

Co-founder of wikipedia Larry Sanger says it's broken beyond repair, and has set up Citizendium.org.

It's basically wikipedia but you have to use your real name to contribute and it's checked by professionals to make sure the stuff you read on it is true, so you don't get the problems wikipedia has- Wikipedia is among the top 10 most visited sites on the internet but it has been dogged by concerns in recent weeks over the veracity of its information. In March, a prominent and longstanding Wikipedia contributor was revealed to be a 24-year-old college dropout.

What do you think? Does the world need a better free encyclopedia?

jentacular dreams

14:53 / 11.04.07

Given that wikipedia's content is copylefted (i.e. freely copyable) would it not make sense for people with knowledge of topics to start importing wkipedia's articles into citizendium in their entirity (once their content has been checked)?

I'm sure we've all written or contributed to the odd page here and there - maybe time to start copying them over.

Olulabelle

15:52 / 11.04.07

I like wikipedia! I thought that although random people contributed those facts were checked by people who made sure they were correct.

What exactly about Wikipedia does Larry think is broken? What's wrong with a 24 year old college drop out contributing? Does dropping out mean this person is incapable of writing valid contributions?

Lama glama

01:28 / 12.04.07

I think it's not so much that there's anything wrong with a 24 year old college drop-out contributing articles to wikipedia, as that the person was contributing complex religious articles, while posing as a person with a doctorate in theology, as far as I can recall. In other words, he didn't have the credentials that he claimed he had and his articles were highly inaccurate, although apparently written very well.

I remember reading about him, but can't find any relevant articles at the moment.

Edited to add: I will, however, continue to use wikipedia for its ease of use and greater breadth of articles. It's frequently a handy study aid for some aspects of my course, but I'd never rely on it for essays or coursework.

The quality of the science articles on Citizendium is fairly impressive, though. Much more detailed than the wikipedia stuff.

grant

18:45 / 12.04.07

I tried starting a conversation about Citizendium before, but it didn't go too far.

I'm keenly interested in how it turns out, but I'm also not sure it's exactly the answer to Wikipedia's shortcomings. Authority makes me anxious, I think -- it's no guarantee you won't have 24yoCDs breaking the system however they can (think of recent NY Times problems with faked credentials, and the whole mess over recent fictional autobiographies).

Quantum

15:09 / 16.04.07

although random people contributed those facts were checked by people who made sure they were correct. Olulabelle

It's alright, but the fact-checkers are also random people. The main improvement as far as I can see is having to use your real identity, meaning one can verify the source of information more easily. I've also found with wikipedia that common fallacies and confusions get missed because most people think they're true.
I prefer an encyclopedia to be written by experts in their fields rather than laypeople, just as I'll ask an expert rather than someone random.

miss wonderstarr

15:33 / 16.04.07

checked by professionals to make sure the stuff you read on it is true

This seems only a step away from having the professionals write the articles (if they're going to painstakingly read and presumably research in order to verify the details of each submission) ~ which sounds more straightforward and sensible, but would also make it just like a conventional encyclopaedia.

miss wonderstarr

15:35 / 16.04.07

The Guardian rites:

He added: "There's a temptation to use the internet rather than peer reviewed journals. [Studnets] need to have a critical eye."

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