The ‘Undue Weight’ of Truth on Wikipedia, Chronicle of Higher Education Options

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The ‘Undue Weight’ of Truth on Wikipedia

Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription)

By Timothy Messer-Kruse • For the past 10 years I've immersed myself in the details of one of the most famous events in American labor history, the Haymarket riot and trial of 1886. Along the way I've written two books and a couple of articles about the …

[dogbiscuit]

Then, in 2011, he came back and finaly got the procedures right

Note the battleground mentality. Surely the idea about encouraging people to Be Bold and Anyone Can Edit is not to treat newcomers as idiots to be tolerated until they have got through the rights of passage into Wikidom, but that if someone has information people should be helping them get that information in.

Instead we have "What is in Wikipedia must be right and we will not tolerate newcomers suggesting otherwise." where the drawbridge goes up and a few warning shots are fired rather than considering that this person could be helpful.

Wikipedians need to remember that policy is to encourage people to edit, not to discourage. Still, Hasten the Day!