Article: http://www.news.com/2100-1038_3-6108495.html
This article brings up a very interesting topic -- data integrity of wikis, databases that can be edited by the general public. Wikipedia is the most popular wiki on the web and also one of my favorite websites. You can look up almost anything and find information about it. In most cases the information is very accurate. I think it is a great concept to give those who are interested in a specific topic the ability to share their knowledge with other interested people. Often times you can really tell that the people who wrote or edited the article are passionate about the topic, just by the amount of detail there is.
However, the best thing about wikis is also the worst thing about wikis. If anyone can edit an article, there is always the possibility of inaccurate information. And there are always going to be bad people who vandalize articles by posting obscene pictures or information.
This article discusses how the German Wikipedia site is going to make it so a user cannot edit an article until they have been registered on Wikipedia for a specified amount of time. This is supposed to deter vandalism...but will it really? My question is, if someone really wants to wreck havoc on Wikipedia, won't they just make an account, wait the specified amount of time, and then vandalize? This system may help cut down vandalism, but I don't foresee it cutting down a significant amount. This system is a good start, but it needs to be expanded on.
If Wikipedia really wants to eliminate vandalism, there needs to be a waiting period between when a user submits an update and when the update goes live. During this period, Wikipedia staff need to look at each submitted edit and approve it so that it can go live. This method would eliminate vandalism, because if anyone tried to post obscene pictures for example, staff would simply not approve the edit, it would never go live, and the user would be banned. Data inaccuracy would still slip by however, because no one person knows everything about everything. It would still be mainly up to fellow users to spot data inaccuracy and report it so it can be fixed.
The reality with Wikipedia is that it will probably never be fool-proof. Wikis give average people the power to publish information without a certification or Ph.D. If Wikipedia was to restrict the freedom of its users too much, it would defeat the purpose of the website. So ultimately, I think the best thing is for people to turn to Wikipedia for fun...heaven forbid using a real encyclopedia for that term paper. :)
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Does anyone know how much vandalism occurs on Wikipedia? I wonder if they keep track of how many entries must be changed due to incorrect information. It sounds like Wikipedia is trying to be the Linux of the encyclopedia world. That is a goal worth aspiring to. Your suggesion is a great one - I wonder why a procedure similar to the one you suggest is not implemented. Certainly not employing such a procedure would be like living on the edge if you are a company who manages information. This is a fascinating area.
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