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No offence but that is shocking that someone would even ask that. The entire point for the existence of Wikipedia is anyone can contribute or edit anything. Wa

No offence but that is shocking that someone would even ask that. The entire point for the existence of Wikipedia is anyone can contribute or edit anything. Wayback machine capture of Wikipedia from Mar 31 2001 > Welcome to Wikipedia, a collaborative project to produce a complete encyclopedia from scratch. We started in January 2001 and already have over 13,000 articles. We want to make over 100,000, so let's get to work--anyone can edit any page--copyedit, expand an article, write a little, write a lot. See the Wikipedia FAQ for information on how to edit pages and other questions.

shadowgovt 5y ago
That was 21 years ago. The nature of Wikipedia has evolved over time as the web has evolved over time. In fact, it followed the pattern of most large web institutions: open and freewheeling when nobody cares, consolidating and conservative as it becomes infrastructure.
- thaumasiotes 5y ago
  > That was 21 years ago. Somebody should tell Wikipedia. Their banner still says "Welcome to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit." And we're asking "why would they let just anyone edit a page?"?
  - setr 5y ago
    Anyone can edit a page… but not all edits have to be accepted. The problem, as it usually is with anything open on the internet, is that a malicious user can do ridiculously more damage with less effort and time than a benevolent user can prevent or supersede. The scales are lopsided. So it inevitably becomes that the onus falls on filtering out the crap before it hits (rather than cleaning it up afterwards)… and thus inevitably more policy, bureaucracy and requirements placed up front. And while anyone can choose to meet these requirements, it becomes cost-prohibitive to learn and adhere for a drive-by editor, whereas it gets amortized out for long-term users. Thus it becomes open to all, yet open to few.
  - shadowgovt 5y ago
    It's the same "everyone" as "Everyone can be President."
    - thaumasiotes 5y ago
      No, it isn't.
- RalfWausE 5y ago
  The web and wikipedia has surely evolved... in a very cancarous way

shadowgovt 5y ago

That was 21 years ago. The nature of Wikipedia has evolved over time as the web has evolved over time. In fact, it followed the pattern of most large web institutions: open and freewheeling when nobody cares, consolidating and conservative as it becomes infrastructure.

thaumasiotes 5y ago
> That was 21 years ago. Somebody should tell Wikipedia. Their banner still says "Welcome to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit." And we're asking "why would they let just anyone edit a page?"?
- setr 5y ago
  Anyone can edit a page… but not all edits have to be accepted. The problem, as it usually is with anything open on the internet, is that a malicious user can do ridiculously more damage with less effort and time than a benevolent user can prevent or supersede. The scales are lopsided. So it inevitably becomes that the onus falls on filtering out the crap before it hits (rather than cleaning it up afterwards)… and thus inevitably more policy, bureaucracy and requirements placed up front. And while anyone can choose to meet these requirements, it becomes cost-prohibitive to learn and adhere for a drive-by editor, whereas it gets amortized out for long-term users. Thus it becomes open to all, yet open to few.
- shadowgovt 5y ago
  It's the same "everyone" as "Everyone can be President."
  - thaumasiotes 5y ago
    No, it isn't.
RalfWausE 5y ago
The web and wikipedia has surely evolved... in a very cancarous way