Wikipedia has announced its instant and unchecked editing abilities might finally be reined in. According to the NYTimes Bits Blog, Wikipedia is demoing a new editing system, which will use community editors to approve changes before they are posted. Users who are registered with Wikipedia will be able to see unapproved changes, while surfers not logged in will only see approved edits.

Wikipedia is testing the program on its German-language site first before rolling it out on all language sites within the community. The main reason Wikipedia is changing its open-ended editing system is to curb vandalism and ill-considered or inaccurate entries which are hastily added to articles.

It will be interesting to see exactly how the editing power structure and well-known “editing wars” will be affected by this significant change. Also, will users as be as likely to do micro-edits if they can’t see immediate results? One of the driving reasons I contribute to Wikipedia is to add short bits of relevant information, correct awkward sentences, or add an important detail. I would definitely be less likely to make edits if such minor changes required a cumbersome approval process.

Then again, Wikipedia really does need to crack down on vandalism.

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