My suggestions for reforming Wikipedia
editThe two fundamental weaknesses of Wikipedia are (1) its limited ability to protect itself against POV-pushers, of which the three worst types (in the areas I edit) are communists, petty nationalists and LaRouche cult members, and (2) its inability to achieve a stable body of completed work which readers can rely on and cite - which is the function of an encyclopaedia.
My suggestions:
- Only registered Users should be able to post to Wikipedia, except at some sort of readers comment section.
- Registration as a User should be made more difficult to deter the frivolous and the mischevious. Registration would be by IP-based email (not a Hotmail account) and there would be a 24-hour waiting period.
- There should be two levels of registration, Users and Editors. Users may contribute articles but may not edit existing articles. Editors may contribute and edit.
- Promotion from User to Editor status would be by nomination by two other Editors, and given only to Users who have good English and have shown they can write in an encyclopaedic style, including a demonstrated commitment to NPOV writing.
- Articles would be eligible for nomination for Completed Article status. Nominations must be seconded by another User, and there must be a week's time for objections. Once an article is registered as Completed, it could only be edited with the approval of a review panel of some sort.
- A higher level of WP would be created, with another name since it would not strictly speaking be a Wiki, at which only Completed Articles would be visible. All articles in this level would be certified to be well-written and proof-read, accurate and NPOV. They would change only as the topic of the article itself changed, or when genuine improvements were suggested and agreed on.
- Edit histories and the contents of Talk pages should be visible only to registered Users. If Wikipedia is to be a credible encyclopaedia the public should not be able to read earlier version of articles (which are frequently rubbish) or our internal disputations.
First suggested December 2003, last updated July 2005
Adam 04:47, 20 July 2005 (UTC)