User:Gennaro Prota/Wikithoughts

=Wikithoughts= Some miscellaneous thoughts about our work that could end up somewhere sometime

What are Wikipedia strengths compared to "traditional" encyclopedias?


 * [If we talk about "commercial" encyclopedias…] Wikipedia has by far a more various contributor base than any conceivable editorial board a publisher could pay for. That means contribution from several cultural backgrounds and point of views.

What its weaknesses?


 * "hurry", "lack of a clear plan"


 * Software limitations
 * Talk pages are mostly unfit for real discussion; archiving them makes them "invisible" to search engines... (mailing list(s)?)
 * Difficulty (impossibility) to release: we'd need a true SCM system
 * Insufficient automation: formatting and style (WP:MoS) is mainly achieved manually, distracting the editor from the primary purpose; the software could take care of this [talk of wikEd here].