World History
I read in a recent issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education that there is a move being made to create an alternative to Wikipedia. It is called Citizendium. Larry Sanger, one of the co-founders of Wikipedia, is attempting to create an academic version of Wikipedia. The idea is for a project (which is not quite an encyclopedia but close to it) which is open to all but allows experts in subject matter have the final say on articles.
The project is going to begin as a fork of Wikipedia with the copying of all the articles currently there. However, the idea is that real life experts will then begin work on the articles and put a stamp of approval on them when they are ready. Discipline based editorial teams will give final approval to content.
Editors will be required to use their real names. Further, they must have academic qualifications which would qualify them to be considered experts in the subject area. Right now, applications for the project are required to submit a CV. As I understand it, non-experts may be allowed to edit articles but they will have no veto over approved expert editors from the academic community. There will be no edit wars between a 19 year old with an axe to grind and a real life academic. The guy/gal with the doctorate will win every time.
Of course, there is a more academic version of Wikipedia out there already. It is called the Encyclopedia Britannica. The Britannica is allowing visitors to contribute content as well but requiring professional editors to approve it. However, as the content there is hidden behind subscription fees, it is not a long term threat to dethrone Wikipedia. Given a choice between free quality information and subscription quality information, free wins every time even if the paid content is slightly better. What if a free peer-reviewed resource created by members of the academy became big? Now we have an alternative to Wikipedia that both academics and the public could approve.
It is going to be hard to create a resource with a large active academic community. This project participants likely will get few tenure or promotion credits for contributing. This will not count as scholarship in most places. Further, one of the keys to Wikipedia is the thousands of users who update articles hourly. It is a good source for current news and up-to-date information. Can Citizendium be this active?
I wonder how many historians will go for this? How many good historians will Citizendium need to have a good history editorial team which can deal with the massive amount of non-peer reviewed articles at Wikipedia which are mostly accurate but will need work and vetting before getting a stamp of approval? I am not going to join right away but I wish these historians luck.
I would say that chances for Citizendium to be successful long-term are slim. However, I would have thought five years ago that an idea like Wikipedia was doomed as well. And how wrong I would have been...
- Fake Professor At Wikipedia
Wikipedia is under attack yet again by the mainstream media. This time, it is because a now former high ranking administrator (Ryan Jordan known as Essjay at Wikipedia) there has been found to have fabricated his credentials by claiming to be an academic...
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- Encyclopaedia Britannica Is Seeking Blogger Support
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- Can History Be Open Source? Wikipedia And The Future Of The Past
Can History be Open Source? Wikipedia and the Future of the Past. This article is from the Journal of American History, Volume 93, Number 1 (June, 2006): 117-46. It was written by Roy Rosenzweig. Obviously, this article deals with the coverage of history...
- Encyclopaedia Britannica's Guide To Normandy 1944
Encyclopaedia Britannica's Guide to Normandy 1944 - The story of the Normandy Invasion through the spoken recollections of veterans who fought it, the newsreels that recorded the events, and written collections of historians who studied the campaign....
World History
Citizendium - An Alternative to Wikipedia?
I read in a recent issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education that there is a move being made to create an alternative to Wikipedia. It is called Citizendium. Larry Sanger, one of the co-founders of Wikipedia, is attempting to create an academic version of Wikipedia. The idea is for a project (which is not quite an encyclopedia but close to it) which is open to all but allows experts in subject matter have the final say on articles.
The project is going to begin as a fork of Wikipedia with the copying of all the articles currently there. However, the idea is that real life experts will then begin work on the articles and put a stamp of approval on them when they are ready. Discipline based editorial teams will give final approval to content.
Editors will be required to use their real names. Further, they must have academic qualifications which would qualify them to be considered experts in the subject area. Right now, applications for the project are required to submit a CV. As I understand it, non-experts may be allowed to edit articles but they will have no veto over approved expert editors from the academic community. There will be no edit wars between a 19 year old with an axe to grind and a real life academic. The guy/gal with the doctorate will win every time.
Of course, there is a more academic version of Wikipedia out there already. It is called the Encyclopedia Britannica. The Britannica is allowing visitors to contribute content as well but requiring professional editors to approve it. However, as the content there is hidden behind subscription fees, it is not a long term threat to dethrone Wikipedia. Given a choice between free quality information and subscription quality information, free wins every time even if the paid content is slightly better. What if a free peer-reviewed resource created by members of the academy became big? Now we have an alternative to Wikipedia that both academics and the public could approve.
It is going to be hard to create a resource with a large active academic community. This project participants likely will get few tenure or promotion credits for contributing. This will not count as scholarship in most places. Further, one of the keys to Wikipedia is the thousands of users who update articles hourly. It is a good source for current news and up-to-date information. Can Citizendium be this active?
I wonder how many historians will go for this? How many good historians will Citizendium need to have a good history editorial team which can deal with the massive amount of non-peer reviewed articles at Wikipedia which are mostly accurate but will need work and vetting before getting a stamp of approval? I am not going to join right away but I wish these historians luck.
I would say that chances for Citizendium to be successful long-term are slim. However, I would have thought five years ago that an idea like Wikipedia was doomed as well. And how wrong I would have been...
- Fake Professor At Wikipedia
Wikipedia is under attack yet again by the mainstream media. This time, it is because a now former high ranking administrator (Ryan Jordan known as Essjay at Wikipedia) there has been found to have fabricated his credentials by claiming to be an academic...
- History At The Academic Blog Portal
There is a new wiki project called the Academic Blog Portal. The FAQ at the site notes, "This is a portal that is intended to provide resources for (a) academic bloggers, and (b) people who want to read academic blogs. It is a first step towards Scott...
- Encyclopaedia Britannica Is Seeking Blogger Support
I received this e-mail yesterday from Rodney Waldoff of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. It partially reads: Hello Miland. You don't know me, but I wear the "community czar" hat at Encyclopaedia Britannica. My role is to develop tools and content that...
- Can History Be Open Source? Wikipedia And The Future Of The Past
Can History be Open Source? Wikipedia and the Future of the Past. This article is from the Journal of American History, Volume 93, Number 1 (June, 2006): 117-46. It was written by Roy Rosenzweig. Obviously, this article deals with the coverage of history...
- Encyclopaedia Britannica's Guide To Normandy 1944
Encyclopaedia Britannica's Guide to Normandy 1944 - The story of the Normandy Invasion through the spoken recollections of veterans who fought it, the newsreels that recorded the events, and written collections of historians who studied the campaign....