Wikipedia: Open Editing vs Expert-Written (2001)
by Anonymous
Jimmy Wales chose to let anyone edit Wikipedia rather than using credentialed experts (like Nupedia). Critics predicted chaos. Instead, the wisdom of crowds created the largest encyclopedia in history.
Open Editing (Anyone Can Edit)
2001
year
Crowdsourced, volunteer editors
editorial model
Explosive — millions of articles
growth rate
Chosen — 60M+ articles in 300+ languages
outcome
Expert-Written (Nupedia Model)
2000
year
PhD-level experts, peer review
editorial model
Glacial — 24 articles in first year
growth rate
Failed — became Wikipedia
outcome
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