So as noted, the L.A. Times' experiment with wikitorials ended up not turning out so well. The trolls descended, as trolls do, and filled the user-editable space with… well, there's no point in talking about what they filled it with. Suffice it to say it was, um, off topic. The Times ended up removing the feature altogether, which indicates they didn't have any plan in place to deal with the onslaught of, as Dan Gillmore puts it, the bottom feeders. There's no word on whether they'll be trying to revive the idea or how they plan to proceed after their experimental wiki trial by fire… backfired. If it were your paper, what would you do?
First wikitorial experiment results: nicht so gut
Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. I'm not sure this was the right venue for their experiment. a Wiki for editorials? How can you edit someone else's opinion in a "fair and balanced" way?
"After midnight Saturday, Newman said, he stopped monitoring the site for the night, and later the pornographic images began to pour in."
What!!! They were really expecting to be able to manage this alone? Back in the day I hired people from different time zones so there was always someone monitoring the community. New communities and collaborations need tending.
Before the LA Times revisits this experiment (IF they revisit this experiment), I hope they spend more time thinking about better tools for managing updates as well as filters for protecting the worthwhile content.
Posted at 8:05PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Carole McManus
3. Hmmmm .... from personal experience, there were more than enough fools, psychotics and malicious little sadists "online" in the days before microcomputers enabled even more of them to "participate". Which is to say, I would NEVER set-up a "forum" or "bulletin board" or "wiki" to which essentially anonymous people could or would post their trivial thought-streams.
Posted at 8:05PM on Dec 18th 2005 by Stardance
1. "If it were your paper, what would you do?"
I would listen to this guy: http://www.buzzmachine.com/archives/2005_06_21.html#009908
Posted at 8:05PM on Dec 18th 2005 by leon