Would Wikipedia Be The Same With Edits Needing Approval?

Wikipedia has apparently be testing a system by which new edits from most users don’t show up for most visitors until they get approved by someone with “authority.” The plan sounds similar to one that was suggested a year ago — but in that case, the new edits would simply be shaded in a different color to warn people that they hadn’t been reviewed. That seems much more effective than completely waiting to approve any edit — especially since the “approvals” are really just to weed out vandalism, not to review the actual trustworthiness of the content. But with color coded “unreviewed” content, it will remind users to make sure they’re even more cautious than they should be with regular Wikipedia content. Either way, requiring approval before edits go live seems like it would take away much of the spirit that made Wikipedia what it is today.

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