Delirium-
This could all be done on the Wiki, but if the stable
distribution is to
be anything but a tiny subset of Wikipedia, I think some more software
would be necessary. Some automated method by which the software keeps
track of submissions and comments would be helpful. One possible method
-- anyone can nominate a particular version of an article, and anyone
can post replies to the nomination that are tagged either "support" or
"oppose" (or "neutral"). Any nomination with no "oppose"
comments
within some certain period of time is automatically added to the stable
version; the ones with opposing comments are dealt with more manually in
the usual wiki way, added if it's been determined a consensus has been
reached, or the nomination withdrawn if a consensus against is reached.
It is hard to say whether such an addition would actually simplify things,
since every new interface is a new barrier to entry. On the other hand, if
it would make things easier, it should be part of the standard Wikipedia
software, because it would be useful for semi-automating other Wiki
processes as well -- "Votes for deletion", "Requests for adminship"
etc.
If "Brilliant prose" does not scale as a selection mechanism, then "Votes
for deletion" does not scale as a deletion mechanism -- the two are
virtually identical in terms of process.
It is harder to find solutions that are well integrated into our existing
wiki framework than to start a separate project, but the potential
benefits are far greater, especially because there will inevitably by
<marketing>synergy effects</marketing> for the project as a whole.
Regards,
Erik