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How does the ''Citizendium'' differ from Wikipedia? Let us count the ways.
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# '''We've got editors.''' They are experts in their fields.  They work shoulder-to-shoulder with everybody else on the wiki, but in their specializations they have the right to approve articles, to settle content disputes when necessary, and articulate article plans.  They can also participate in editorial decisionmaking bodies.
Citizendium was originally founded by [[Larry Sanger]], one of Wikipedia's co-founders.  Citizendium has gone through multiple different management models since its inception in 2006, but it has always adhered to its real-names policy. Let's look at how it compares with Wikipedia as of 2023.
# '''And we respect them for their expertise.'''  We do not dismiss their expertise as the mere accumulation of meaningless "credentials." We do not pretend that work on a wiki website is a better indicator of ability than real world professional standing. We do not dismiss ordinary notions of expertise as only so much "credentialism" or "elitism."  In an encyclopedia project, respect for expertise is just good sense.
 
# '''We use our own names.''' Not only do we require people to sign in, we require them to use names that they attest are their own real names.  We also go to some lengths (without making absolute guarantees) to verify identities--and greater lengths for editors.
==How is Citizendium similar to Wikipedia?==
# '''We expect professional behavior and have very low tolerance for disruption.'''  Our Constabulary has some [[CZ:Constabulary Blocking Procedures|pretty firm rules]] which require[[CZ:Professionalism|professionalism]]. This means that not only do we have rules against personal attacks, blatant violations of the neutrality policy, and so forth, we actually enforce them.  We enforce our rules by warnings (in most cases) followed by permanent bans, which can be rescinded only through appeal or application for reinstatement.  We do not have "24 hour bans" which do nothing but annoy and antagonize.
# Citizendium and Wikipedia both aim to create a giant free general encyclopedia.
# '''We have no vandalism.''' Excluding the short period in which we permitted self-registration, we have had zero vandalism--none.
# Citizendium and Wikipedia both use [[Special:Version|MediaWiki software]].
# '''We don't use "userboxes."'''  User pages are biographies, not vanity pages.
# Citizendium and Wikipedia both use wiki methods of collaboration and encourage everybody to work on articles in their area of interest and expertise.
# '''Our constables are not high school students.''' They are required to have a bachelor's degree and to be at least 25 years old.
# On both wikis, no particular qualifications are needed to contribute.
# '''Unlike Wikipedia administrators, constables do not make editorial decisions.'''  We have a "separation of powers." Constables oversee behavior and adherence to basic policies; editors oversee content.
# Both wikis work on the basis of trust and rely on "soft security" to a great extent.
# '''Unlike Wikipedia administrators, constables are held to a conflict of interest policy.''' If they have engaged in a dispute or are otherwise at work on an article, they may not exercise their constable authority with respect to that article.
# Both wikis have similar naming conventions and other style guidelines in common. See [[CZ:Manual of Style]] for the differences.
# '''We don't use zillions of acronyms.''' The Chief Constable has made this a bannable offense.  We're not sure whether she's kidding or not.  Using a lot of acronyms for every small point of policy creates a sort in-group cant that makes the community only more insular.
# Both wikis are committed to an [[CZ:Objectivity_Guidance|objective, unbiased]] presentation of information (although there are some differences as described in the following section).
# '''The license differs.'''  We are using [check this!] the [[Creative Commons]] Attribution-Noncommercial (CC-by-nc) license for our original articles.
 
# '''Contributors share their copyright with us.''' Contributors give to the Citizendium Foundation a nonexclusive right to relicense their work.  This allows the Citizendium Foundation to be the sole entity that licenses the entire ''Citizendium'' corpus.
== How is Citizendium different from Wikipedia? ==
# '''Our article policies differ.'''
# Citizendium contributors use their '''real names''' and identities, must sign in, and are expected provide a publicly readable biography listing some of the life experience or training that they have.  This policy exists to prevent vandalism and help contributors negotiate over article content.  Citizendium goes to some lengths to verify contributor identities. Its user pages are for brief, helpful biographies and are not intended as vanity pages.  Contributors are not allowed to promote their own resumes or business endeavors via this wiki.
#* '''We are aiming to create introductory narratives, not collections of data.''' We are encouraging our contributors to create coherent, readable, extended narratives that actually do the job of introducing a topic to people who ''need'' an introduction to the topic.  We are actively discouraging articles that take the form of mere disconnected summaries of subtopics, or other "modular" collections of data that could easily be reshuffled and reorganized.  Such "articles" are dull and not likely to be read all the way through.
# Citizendium defines '''objectivity''' differently than Wikipedia. The "neutrality policy" of Wikipedia, as applied nowadays by its leading editors, is that Wikipedia is based solely on "reliable" sources. If there's a consensus of those, then Wikipedia asserts that as unquestioned fact in its own voice, and other points of view, no matter how widely held, may not even be mentioned. This differs rather widely from Citizendium's concept, which is that if there are important points of view that "the scientific community" or some such rejects, Citizendium just says so.<ref>Unlike Wikipedia, Citizendium discourages the loaded language which dismisses certain people and ideas in the first sentence of an article by use of labeling them immediately as "pseudo-scientific" or "fads". For an example of differences in Wikipedia's "neutrality policy" and Citizendium's "objectivity policy", look at Citizendium's treatment of [[Graham Hancock]], as compared with [[Wikipedia:Graham Hancock|Wikipedia's article on him]] with its multiple uses of the label "pseudo-". Citizendium would likely reject that first sentence as an example of loaded language which is far from objective.</ref>  Citizendium also '''uses sources differently''' from Wikipedia; in Citizendium, sources are something to help the reader rather than a required "proof" for every single assertion made within an article.  
#* '''We use an older version of the neutrality policy.''' Wikipedia has added all sorts of bells and whistles to its original neutrality policy.  We've gone back to one of the original versions.  And we don't use "NPOV" and "POV"; we use the old-fashioned English words "neutral" and "biased."
# Citizendium is a '''community whose shared principles are expressed in its [[CZ:Policies|policies]]'''.  Citizendium managers have a low tolerance for disruption. Its management team has some [[CZ:Moderator Group Blocking Procedures|firm rules]] that require [[CZ:Professionalism|professionalism]]. There are rules against personal attacks, self-promotion, and blatant violations of the objectivity guidelines, usually enforced first by warnings delivered privately if possible.  The Citizendium community settles policies by discussion and (where necessary) voting by the community.  The management team is supported behind the scenes by a private advisory group with long-term experience in wiki use and management.  Any Citizendium contributor interested in managing the wiki may request to join this group by messaging the managing editor.
#* '''Since we've got experts on board, we don't make a big deal of citing sources.''' The editors we have on board create the sort of sources that Wikipedia cites.  We do cite sources, of course, but we have [[CZ:Article_Mechanics#Citations|a sensible approach]] to doing so.  We cite sources because doing so helps the reader: we ''do not'' cite sources in order to settle internal disputes.
# Citizendium encourages '''discussion of editorial options''' on article Talk pages and in the Forums.  The real-names policy allows a contributor's opinions (as expressed on Talk pages or the Forum) to be evaluated by the community with some reference to their life experience and professional qualifications.  It helps us understand one another. On Wikipedia, it is not uncommon for a contributor who wishes to control the content of an article quickly to archive the article's Talk page in order to hide the fact that someone has raised a point of contention requiring community debate.  On Citizendium, article Talk pages are not to be archived unless they become too long, and if defamatory content appears on them, management will simple remove the content from the page.
# Citizendium has '''its own [[CZ:Content_Policy|content policy]]''' that differs from Wikipedia's idea of ''notability''.   Also, Citizendium articles are classified broadly into different '''[[CZ:Workgroups|Workgroups]]'''<ref>Workgroups are designated on the article's Metadata subpage template.  See [[CZ:Subpages|Subpages]] for more infromation.</ref> and normally, categories are not used on articles.   Works on Citizendium use the [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported (CC-by-sa)] license.  
# In terms of '''writing style''', Citizendium management prefers articles that are compelling introductory narratives, not mere collections of data. An excessive use of '''acronyms''' is discouraged on grounds that acronyms can render a topic unintelligible to non-experts.
# Attached to every article is a set of '''[[CZ:subpages|subpages]]''' of supplementary information.  These may include the standard tabs for related articles, bibliographies, and external articles, but also can be customized to include galleries, tables, timelines, tutorials, and signed introductory articles by experts.   
# Citizendium takes '''avoidance of defamation''' seriously. This is why it has a [[CZ:Policy on Topic Informants|Policy on Topic Informants]] and a [[CZ:Topic Informant Workgroup|Topic Informant Workgroup]].
# At Citizendium, '''all contributors are equal'''.  <ref>Formerly, Citizendium had experts in certain fields who were called Editors, and every Editor was also an Author; it also once had a [[CZ:Approval Process|method for producing citable articles]] that depended on the judgment of experts.  ''These features are not currently being used.''</ref>  A few of Citizendium's experienced contributors tend to help arbitrate editorial decisions via discussions on Talk pages or in the Forum.  Any contributor is welcome to weigh in with their ideas, opinions or helpful information.
 
== See also ==
*[[CZ:Introduction to CZ for Wikipedians|Introduction to CZ for Wikipedians]]
*[[CZ:How to convert Wikipedia articles to Citizendium articles|How to convert Wikipedia articles to Citizendium articles]]
 
== Notes ==
<references>
</references>
 
{{organization}}

Latest revision as of 09:09, 3 August 2024


Citizendium was originally founded by Larry Sanger, one of Wikipedia's co-founders. Citizendium has gone through multiple different management models since its inception in 2006, but it has always adhered to its real-names policy. Let's look at how it compares with Wikipedia as of 2023.

How is Citizendium similar to Wikipedia?

  1. Citizendium and Wikipedia both aim to create a giant free general encyclopedia.
  2. Citizendium and Wikipedia both use MediaWiki software.
  3. Citizendium and Wikipedia both use wiki methods of collaboration and encourage everybody to work on articles in their area of interest and expertise.
  4. On both wikis, no particular qualifications are needed to contribute.
  5. Both wikis work on the basis of trust and rely on "soft security" to a great extent.
  6. Both wikis have similar naming conventions and other style guidelines in common. See CZ:Manual of Style for the differences.
  7. Both wikis are committed to an objective, unbiased presentation of information (although there are some differences as described in the following section).

How is Citizendium different from Wikipedia?

  1. Citizendium contributors use their real names and identities, must sign in, and are expected provide a publicly readable biography listing some of the life experience or training that they have. This policy exists to prevent vandalism and help contributors negotiate over article content. Citizendium goes to some lengths to verify contributor identities. Its user pages are for brief, helpful biographies and are not intended as vanity pages. Contributors are not allowed to promote their own resumes or business endeavors via this wiki.
  2. Citizendium defines objectivity differently than Wikipedia. The "neutrality policy" of Wikipedia, as applied nowadays by its leading editors, is that Wikipedia is based solely on "reliable" sources. If there's a consensus of those, then Wikipedia asserts that as unquestioned fact in its own voice, and other points of view, no matter how widely held, may not even be mentioned. This differs rather widely from Citizendium's concept, which is that if there are important points of view that "the scientific community" or some such rejects, Citizendium just says so.[1] Citizendium also uses sources differently from Wikipedia; in Citizendium, sources are something to help the reader rather than a required "proof" for every single assertion made within an article.
  3. Citizendium is a community whose shared principles are expressed in its policies. Citizendium managers have a low tolerance for disruption. Its management team has some firm rules that require professionalism. There are rules against personal attacks, self-promotion, and blatant violations of the objectivity guidelines, usually enforced first by warnings delivered privately if possible. The Citizendium community settles policies by discussion and (where necessary) voting by the community. The management team is supported behind the scenes by a private advisory group with long-term experience in wiki use and management. Any Citizendium contributor interested in managing the wiki may request to join this group by messaging the managing editor.
  4. Citizendium encourages discussion of editorial options on article Talk pages and in the Forums. The real-names policy allows a contributor's opinions (as expressed on Talk pages or the Forum) to be evaluated by the community with some reference to their life experience and professional qualifications. It helps us understand one another. On Wikipedia, it is not uncommon for a contributor who wishes to control the content of an article quickly to archive the article's Talk page in order to hide the fact that someone has raised a point of contention requiring community debate. On Citizendium, article Talk pages are not to be archived unless they become too long, and if defamatory content appears on them, management will simple remove the content from the page.
  5. Citizendium has its own content policy that differs from Wikipedia's idea of notability. Also, Citizendium articles are classified broadly into different Workgroups[2] and normally, categories are not used on articles. Works on Citizendium use the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported (CC-by-sa) license.
  6. In terms of writing style, Citizendium management prefers articles that are compelling introductory narratives, not mere collections of data. An excessive use of acronyms is discouraged on grounds that acronyms can render a topic unintelligible to non-experts.
  7. Attached to every article is a set of subpages of supplementary information. These may include the standard tabs for related articles, bibliographies, and external articles, but also can be customized to include galleries, tables, timelines, tutorials, and signed introductory articles by experts.
  8. Citizendium takes avoidance of defamation seriously. This is why it has a Policy on Topic Informants and a Topic Informant Workgroup.
  9. At Citizendium, all contributors are equal. [3] A few of Citizendium's experienced contributors tend to help arbitrate editorial decisions via discussions on Talk pages or in the Forum. Any contributor is welcome to weigh in with their ideas, opinions or helpful information.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Unlike Wikipedia, Citizendium discourages the loaded language which dismisses certain people and ideas in the first sentence of an article by use of labeling them immediately as "pseudo-scientific" or "fads". For an example of differences in Wikipedia's "neutrality policy" and Citizendium's "objectivity policy", look at Citizendium's treatment of Graham Hancock, as compared with Wikipedia's article on him with its multiple uses of the label "pseudo-". Citizendium would likely reject that first sentence as an example of loaded language which is far from objective.
  2. ↑ Workgroups are designated on the article's Metadata subpage template. See Subpages for more infromation.
  3. ↑ Formerly, Citizendium had experts in certain fields who were called Editors, and every Editor was also an Author; it also once had a method for producing citable articles that depended on the judgment of experts. These features are not currently being used.


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