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Fri 08 Aug 2009Wikipedia editing controls spell end to famously open system
A PLAN by Wikipedia to place new restrictions on its open editing system, which lets anyone make changes to its articles, highlights the difficulty the online encyclopedia has had in maintaining a balance between openness and preventing abuse, writes
RICHARD WATERSin San Francisco
The changes, which will focus in particular on items about living people, are designed to protect the “high-profile people who have always been a target for pranksters and vandalism” on the site, says Jimmy Wales, a founder of the collective reference work, which is among the world’s 10 most visited websites.
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