Searchable Quote Wiki
Check out Quotiki. It’s a wiki that allows
you to search for quotes. Of course, since it is user run it is subject to
the same potential accuracy problems as wikipedia. But still, perhaps
another useful resource for hard to find quotes.
All entries submitted to our site go through a human approval process at this time. So it might be a nice blend between a wide open wiki and a editor built quote site. We are looking to open approval up in 2007. Any suggestions?
Shawn,
I think that there is a lot of potential and good that can come from a wide open wiki. Certain the self-correcting potential for a widely used wiki is very high, as we’ve seen other places. However, there is always the potential for error as well. And while this potential can never really be eliminated no matter what the publishing medium is, I think there are somethings that can be done to minimize it. For instance, you could make it a requirement for anyone posting a quote or editing a quote to list a citation. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a proper or formal citation. For instance, maybe the reference for it is just “Steve, that guy on the bus.” But that would at least give the end user a starting place to make a determination about the reliablity of the intformation, and whether it was good enough to make meet their needs. It could also give other contributors a starting place to conduct further research, if someone felt it was neccessary.
You could combine this with the version tracking features common to a wiki. For instance, instead of just showing the most recent version of a quote on the page, show the last two or three versions, with the citation information so that users can see what, if any, errors were made, and how they were corrected.
For most uses, all of this might be overkill. But I think it’s interesting to think about how we can combine traditional methods of information science and scholarship with new technologies and broad access to information to use the strengths and advantages of both to create a more accurate and easier to use final product.