ChiefNode

Conflict of interest screen in posting to Wikipedia?

Wikipedia has had to block certain parties from editing Wikipedia entries, primarily politicians. Evidently staffers help the entries portray their bosses in the right light. Scholarly authors must disclose their conflicts of interest when writing. I imagine authors of old, regular encyclopedias were hired to write about particular subjects. Wikipedia is a great idea. But open is a problem without stewards -- and endorsement from the community of those stewards standards. If open projects are to be credible, some care must be taken to maintain quality, integrity and objectivity. Amazon.com has gone to identifying real authors, and hoping that users value those opinions more than others. Shall Wikipedia adopt that? Or shall they create a special section where "bias" can be presented -- a "commercial" Wikipedia? What else?

posted by Dana Bostrom @ 17:34