2009/3/8 James Mckenzie jjmckenzie51@earthlink.net:
David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote on March 8th:
2009/3/8 James Mckenzie jjmckenzie51@earthlink.net:
Would you be willing to clean out the ash and trash that will show up with an open Wiki?
I already said I would, yes - that the only reason for not just starting one is to avoid massive duplication of effort.
If we move to an open Wiki, be prepared to be very busy. I've seen spambots get past most, if not all, of the verification systems and bomb away. I've read where several systems had to shut them down for fear of being sued. At the present time, we have verification for exactly that reason. To keep the spam out and to pre-edit those entries that do not provide all of the information needed.
I come from years of fighting vandals on Wikipedia. I know a thing or two about the field ...
You're conflating a few separate things in your reply:
* The spammers are mostly dealt with by requiring a login to write stuff *and* having a submission address or (better) form for those who can't be bothered creating yet another website login. * "I've read where several systems had to shut them down for fear of being sued" - [citation needed]. Sec 230 has proven enough to completely protect Wikipedia in actual court cases, not just in theory. * Entries that do not provide all the information needed - that's quality control, which is part of the editing process.
- d.