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Joshua Glenn is a Boston-based writer, editor, and multimedia
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« Woe is us, continued | Main | Keanu --> zombie? » Tuesday, March 27, 2007Ecce CitizendiumOnce upon a time (from March 2000 through September 2003, to be precise) there was a Web-based encyclopedia whose peer-reviewed articles were written by experts and licensed as free content. It was called Nupedia. Despite the fact that Nupedia was very much a part of the free software movement (not the same thing as open source), its bureaucratic peer review process was an uncomfortable fit with free-software culture. Nupedia produced fewer than 25 entries. Nupedia begat Wikipedia, a collaborative encyclopedia whose visitors can add, remove, edit, and change content. It has been a tremendous success, but its reliability and accuracy are suspect. And as the "Wikipedia" Wikipedia entry notes: The site has also been criticized for its susceptibility to vandalism, uneven quality, systemic bias and inconsistencies, and for favoring consensus over credentials in its editorial process. On Monday, Larry Sanger, founding editor-in-chief of Wikipedia, announced the beta launch of Citizendium, "a citizen's compendium of everything." It's Wikipedia minus the anonymous editing, and plus "gentle expert oversight" (authors are asked to provide CVs and other proof of their expertise). Wikipedians are scornful of this elitist newcomer; but others -- including Alex Golub at the well-respected anthropology blog Savage Minds -- are cautiously optimistic. Posted by Joshua Glenn at 07:28 AM
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