Sifter project

The Sifter project is an idea that has a long history in Wikipedian terms. It was apparently originally an idea of Larry Sanger in 2002. It has never been clearly explicated; but its essential idea is to sift Wikipedia for quality articles which would form some form of reliable encyclopedia that can be trusted by users.

This idea has not been a forefront concern within Wikipedia while Wikipedia is in its early stages. As Wikipedia approaches the likes of Britannica in quality and quantity it will become a far more pressing concern.

Jimbo Wales was strongly in favour of producing a CD version of Wikipedia hopefully in late 2004. Some form of sifter project will have to be instituted to produce this version of Wikipedia.

This issue is more generally discussed in Article validation and the most detailed specific proposal is probably Referees by Andrewa.

Critical issues include:

Who will be the referees?
What standards will be used?
Will the default version of Wikipedia be the dynamic, latest version of an article or the sifted version?
How do you ensure the existing Wikipedia is not affected by the sifter project in a negative way?
Will the sifter project alter the articles to fit the standards required for the CD or authoritative version of Wikipedia?

See also