The Wikipedia Debate

Anyone with an interest in the history of encyclopaedias cannot fail to be interested in the current debate regarding the progress of Wikipedia - the online interactive encyclopaedia.

First came 'The Faith-Based Encyclopedia' by Robert McHenry, a critical essay from a former editor of 'Encyclopaedia Britannica', which challenged the value of Wikipedia's organic editing process, claimed this was a flawed way to reach a highly accurate article.
See: http://www.techcentralstation.com/111504A.html

This was followed by an analysis published in Nature which examined a wide range of articles from both Britannica and Wikipedia and found their accuracy levels were quite similar.
See: http://www.nature.com/news/2005/051212/full/438900a.html

These and other issues are expertly reviewed in an article in Village Voice
See: http://villagevoice.com/arts/0602,aviv,71632,12.html

This subject has also been discussed at The Institute of Flaneurology to whom I am grateful for the references.

UPDATE: 'Comedy of Errors hits the world of Wikipedia' [Sunday Times]