User talk:Proabivouac/What Wikipedia Should Be

This space will, over the coming weeks, evolve into an essay or a rant about 1) what Wikipedia should be, but isn't 2) what Wikipedia shouldn't be, but is, and 3) what we can do to get there from here.

What Wikipedia should be (but isn't)
In short form, Wikipedia should be an encyclopedia. There are several ways in which Wikipedia is radically innovative, yielding phenomenal increases in productive potential along with decreases in the cost of publication. The challenge was always how to reap the benefits of these innovations while retaining the virtues of a traditional encyclopedia.

Serious
Wikipedia should be a serious scholarly enterprise.

Responsible
A responsible publication takes responsibility for every single word which appears within it.

Trustworthy
Wikipedia should be worthy of the trust of readers and volunteer contributors alike.