Wikipedia to trial a host of new trust-based capabilities

[mandy]

Wikimedia Foundation, the charity that oversees the online encyclopedia, now says it is poised to trial a host of new trust-based capabilities.

The changes could help transform the encyclopedia from a rough guide into a trusted authority. But they might also erode the very freedoms that encourage people to contribute to the encyclopedia in the first place. Either way, the stage appears set for Wikipedia 2.0...

The shift is a dramatic one for the encyclopedia. For now, edits to an entry can be made by any user and appear immediately to all readers. In the new version, only edits made by a separate class of "trusted" users will be instantly implemented.

To earn this trusted status, users will have to show some commitment to Wikipedia, by making 30 edits in 30 days, say. Other users will have to wait until a trusted editor has given the article a brief look, enough to confirm that the edit is not vandalism, before their changes can be viewed by readers...

full article: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2007/09/21/2957869.htm