So Encarta is more or less becoming some sort of a Wiki…
Microsoft Corp.’s Encarta encyclopedia is testing a system that lets everyone be an editor — in theory at least. Readers can suggest edits or additions to entries, although the changes are vetted by editors before they reach the page.
Encarta is not requiring such novice editors to identify themselves, said Gary Alt, Encarta’s editorial director. But it is asking them to reveal the source of their information if possible, and the editorial staff will check for both factual errors and evidence of bias.
[Source: CNN]
So it seems the guys at Microsoft have recognized the power of collaborative knowledge and wikis or they’ve started feeling the heat from Wikipedia.
I think this is quite a good step. And I think it’s great how this whole blog and wiki movement is affecting how media and encyclopedias are working.
It’s somehow like giving the power back to the people.
It is a step for Encarta/Microsoft not for anyone else. The content contributed will not have a free license, like the wikipedia. As Jimbo Wales said, smart contributers will realize this. And contributions are not published directly, they wait approval and editing.
Yes I know that there are some differences in the licensing of the content as well as the whole procedure before the attributed content gets online. But still I think this change does somehow make Encarta a Wiki of some sorts, a licensed moderated one.