Portal:Wikisage

Wikisage stands for wiki(pedia) second age. It is the free encyclopedia of the second generation.

Free means that everyone has access to the entire content of the encyclopedia, and that the content can be freely used and distributed under the terms of the GNU license. It further means, that everyone can contribute to the realization of the encyclopedia - an encyclopedia which is therefore never finished.

What was wrong with the first generation?

The free encyclopedia of the first generation, of which Wikipedia is the best known example, is among other things based on the following principles:

• neutrality, no own research
• all opinions have equal value

In practice, this proved to be incompatible. De illiterate had the opportunity to decide that their personal view was the neutral point of view, and the experts' input was rendered impossible with all imaginable means. Wikipedia is a prison where the convicts rule and their victims get locked up, a school where toddlers are the boss of the teachers. I was an experiment, from which we have learned.

What is new?

With Wikisage we hope to do better by providing a different structure for both encyclopedia and community. New is, to begin with:

• to an encyclopedic article, essays of individual users can be attached
• an expert can be appointed to (wiki) sage and have the responsibility for one or more articles

A novelty is also the notion of a (wiki) village. Users that work in the same area can found a village. In case of a content dispute on their terrain, the opinion of the village is decisive. This invites to cooperation and offers the possibility of small-scale social control.

In short, on Wikisage there is respect for each other's expertise. For instance, referring to one's own publications is a normal phenomenon, if these publications are verifiable and relevant.