"Theo Clarke" wrote
Anonymous edits enable impulse contributions to WP. I
share the consensus
view that this is desirable. It is not a matter of openness; merely a
matter of immediacy.
Really, that's not right. Put up a registration barrier, and you are less
open.
The main issue though is WP's responsiveness. The USP of wiki is that they
are very responsive to what the online population thinks or knows. Having
no registration promotes that quality: we do the maximum to make WP
responsive by removing obstructions to just editing. If we were trying to
scoop other news media, this would show up as an advantage.
Charles