In another example of society not getting it, spinoffs (or should I say variations) of Wikipedia, typically revolving around correction of one of its perceived flaws by somehow restricting access to articles, are sprouting up on the web. Of course, this is more akin to a traditional online encyclopedia, such as Encarta, than Wikipedia, whose very existence is due to the success of using an unrestricted editing process (although it has a fair deal of informal schism and an unacknowledged but well-defined hierarchy within its ranks, as I found out when I was an active contributor – I was one of the first to realize it and that is why I am no longer an active contributor). Wikipedia proves that this model works very well, but some people seem to miss the lesson.

The most ironic ones are the ones that start with Wikipedia’s articles as a base. “Sure, your model doesn’t work, but we’ll use it for what will likely form the majority of content in our encyclopedia”.

(Update: Just saw this a day after posting. Woof!)