Wikipedia limits edits on biographies of living

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 25 Aug 2009 at 10:52

Wikipedia will require edits made about a living person to be signed off by an experienced editor as part of its "flagged revisions" feature.

Flagged revisions mean that changes made in the biographies of living people cannot go live until they've been reviewed by one of Wikipedia's senior editors - an acknowledgement by the site that it needs to become more dependable.

"We are no longer at the point that it is acceptable to throw things at the wall and see what sticks," Michael Snow, chairman of the Wikimedia board tells The New York Times. "There was a time probably when the community was more forgiving of things that were inaccurate or fudged in some fashion — whether simply misunderstood or an author had some axe to grind. There is less tolerance for that sort of problem now."

We are no longer at the point that it is acceptable to throw things at the wall and see what sticks

The system is already in place on the German version of the site, and will be rolled out to the English-language Wikipedia in the next few weeks. It's sure to prove controversial among those who consider Wikipedia's status as "the free encyclopaedia anyone can edit" to be sacred.

The move comes as Wikipedia continues its struggle to balance openness and accuracy. High-profile pages, including those of political leaders, are often protected, or semi-protected meaning edits can only be made by approved contributors.

More controversially, back in June The New York Times revealed it had worked with Wikipedia to suppress articles about the kidnapping of reporter David Rohde in Afghanistan. While the action may have saved his life, it still dismayed those who consider Wikipedia the people's encyclopaedia.