Digital Journal — Does the world need another Wikipedia? One of the online encyclopedia’s co-founders thinks so because his rival site will launch this week.
Larry Sanger, Wikipedia’s former editor-in-chief, plans to debut his own alternative called Citizendium, which will include user registration and editorial controls to regulate user-submitted articles. Wikipedia enjoys a more free-for-all system.
“There are a number of problems with [Wikipedia’s] system that can be solved, and by solving those we can end up with an ever better massive encyclopedia,” Sanger told the New York Times.
Citizendium is not starting with nothing. It will replicate the existing database of articles and then evolve, through user interaction, into a new compendium quite different from Wikipedia. Volunteer editors, or “constables,” will enforce community rules. They won’t be able to make a decision on how articles read, Sanger points out, but will instead oversee certain subjects.
Another difference from Wikipedia is that Citizendium will make sure members register with their real name to post articles. That way, playful hackers will easily be identified and become discouraged to publish erroneous facts.
“The idea is we will be inviting people from around to work together under the gentle guidance of experts,” Sanger said.
Citizendium sounds altruistic, but it’s like an upstart search engine trying to trump Google’s technology. Wikipedia is one of the most popular research tools on the Web, with more than two million articles in 229 languages. According to Nielsen NetRatings, in September the site attracted more than 33 million unique visitors.
In order to put a dent in Wikipedia’s business, Citizendium must offer users an attractive interface and solid credibility. The past year has seen Wikipedia withstand attacks from critics who charge the site with half-truths and restrictive policies (In August, Wikipedia banned comedian Stephen Colbert after he asked his TV viewers to make edits to the site’s articles). Perhaps Wikipedia isn’t as glorious as it can be, but Citizendium doesn’t yet have the cachet that rockets a site into the top 20.
Until Citizendium proves itself, wiki fanatics shouldn’t worry too much about a rival site looking to steal a chunk of their attention.
