[WikiEN-l] Ideas on a methodology

Mon Jul 7 16:13:49 UTC 2003

Magnus Manske wrote:

>Then let's make this happen! How about this:
>* On wikipedia, a link "make this the stable version" appears for editors

I basically agree with y'all (Magnus, mav, and Erik).
But I question this one point.

The problem is, it allows only one Sifter project.
That's all that we'll have to start with,
and maybe that's all that we ever want, period.
But in the past, we've discussed several projects --
a stable version, a peer-reviewed version, a safe-for-kids version.
Allowing all of these works easiest if it's the Sifter site,
not the Wikipedia site itself, where people pick versions.
The true beauty of this is that somebody that hates our Sifters
is now free to set up their own Sifter using our Sifter software,
and choose Wikipedia articles according to their own judgements.
(Let a hundred Sifters bloom.)

>We'll just have to find a way to determine the editors. That aside,
>would that be a viable concept? I ask because it'd be dead easy to code ;-)

That's good to know.  Would /this/ be as easy to code:

* No new links on Wikipedia (except links to the Sifter site[s], of course).
* From within a Sifter site, an /editor only/ can view all Wikipedia versions,
  even though ordinary readers can view only the stable/safe/reviewed versions.
* Again from /within/ the Sifter site, an editor viewing a Wikipedia version
  can choose that version to be the Sifter site's new version.
* To really sweeten the deal, editors of a Sifter site
  can edit a Wikipedia article from within the Sifter site --
  this works because the Sifter site performs the same GET and POST commands
  as any ordinary user would when editing the Wikipedia site.
  The Sifter site can even have its own log in and be registered like bots are.

-- Toby