CZ:Proposals/Self-Correction Policy

This proposal has been assigned to the Editorial Council, and is now in the Editorial Council proposals queue.

Driver: Larry Sanger

Complete explanation

The Citizendium should adopt a policy that requires that we list all factual errors in previous versions of our articles--including unapproved articles--on a new "Corrections" subpage.

A correction should be made only if:

• The claim is truly a matter of fact. We will not announce correction of bias.
• The claim can be proven to have been in error. A source should be linked to (or quoted) in most cases.
• The claim is reasonably significant, not trivial. Trivial errors include typographical errors that do not affect the meaning of the text, grammar and spelling changes that do not affect meaning, and so forth. Any matter with the slightest tendency to affect a person or other entity's public reputation is significant. Moreover, matters on which students might be tested, and that people might use as the basis for action, are to be considered significant.
• The claim has been on the wiki long enough to have potentially "done damage." As a rule of thumb, this will be 24 hours. We need not announce corrections of quickly-fixed errors, unless the error became public knowledge in the short time in which it appeared.

Correction notices are especially encouraged when a person who is/was involved with the matter discussed (i.e., a person who might become a [[CZ:Policy on Topic Informants|topic informant) asks for the article to be corrected for factual error, especially egregious or multiple factual errors.

No person will be made to take responsibility for a particular error, even if he wishes to do so.

Correction notices will be removed one year after being placed on an article, or an amount of time otherwise decided by the Editor-in-Chief or Chief Area Editors, commensurate with the impact of the error.

The Editor-in-Chief or, when installed, Chief Area Editors have the final word on whether a correct must be made, and what form it must take.

Reasoning

In brief, this is the same standard that newspapers and other legitimate periodicals use. We are obligated to adopt the same policy. Doing so will earn us good will from the public and increase our credibility considerably.

Argument 1. Self-correction would encourage people to write a bit more carefully. To avoid being "corrected" (but bear in mind that no individual person will be made to take responsibility in a correction notice!), many of us will be more likely to double-check our facts. This will have a material effect on the credibility of the results.

Argument 2. Self-correction would increase our credibility. The Citizendium has already hoisted a flag over new territory: we say we stand for credibility and expert knowledge, as well as openness and dynamic collaboration. If we own up to our errors, we are in effect declaring: we care so much about our own reputation for accuracy that we will take responsibility when we get things wrong. Lists of errors are embarrassing, but they are also impressive in that they reveal commitment and responsibility on the part of the authors.

Argument 3. Encourages public feedback and hence involvement in the project. Particularly if we provide an e-mail address or form that people can use to post factual corrections to us, no doubt some people will act as fact-checkers for us. Some of those people will get involved. This can do nothing but good.

Argument 4. Self-correction would sharpen our vision and leadership for a new, more responsible Internet. Wikipedia has very famously made some mistakes, and if we grow large enough, it is only a matter of time before the Citizendium is caught in some howlers. (One hopes this will not happen so often and that they won't be so bad; but I do expect it to happen.) If Wikipedia had adopted a policy of posting corrections of errors, and apologizing for them, the public ill-will its scandals generated would have been considerably moderated. If the Citizendium differentiates itself by committing to publicly correcting and apologizing for its errors, we will at once increase our standards and create a reputation for higher credibility than the usual open Internet website. That can do nothing but good.

In fact, we would be differentiating ourselves not only from Wikipedia, but from the vast majority of wikis, blogs, and other "crowd-sourced" websites. We would essentially be taking the leadership of this issue of owning up to errors. If the issue became an important public issue (see next argument), this could raise the profile and importance of CZ as a whole.

Argument 5. Announcement of a self-correction policy might spearhead a public debate--at which we would be the center. The media, knowledge professionals, and a large part of the general public are understandably and increasingly bothered by the amount of sheer garbage and error online. The typical responses to this are: (1) yes, the Internet isn't not perfect, but look at how much information there is! And (2) we're just regular people exercising our freedom, and there's nothing wrong with that. But suppose we put the issue of self-correction into the arena of debate about the Internet. Then there are natural replies: (1) sure, it's not perfect, so why not do your share of improving it and own up to your errors? And (2) you can more responsibly exercise your freedom if you commit to admitting your mistakes. Knowing the Internet media as I do, I am inclined that some of them would jump on this as they did over Tim O'Reilly's Bloggers' Code of Conduct. O'Reilly did say, "And when things go awry, acknowledge it," but he did not ask bloggers to own up to their errors when they are shown to be in error. I would like to do so, on behalf of the Citizendium as a whole. A paragraph of a press release could read:

"The 'publish then filter' Internet desperately needs to improve its credibility. There is no reason that Wikipedia, blogs, and other websites should not adopt the same standard of self-correction that newspapers use," Sanger said. "I urge everyone with a website, no matter how small, to explicitly adopt a self-correction policy. I also urge users of popular wikis, blogs, and other websites to demand that they adopt such a policy."

Argument 6. If adopted on the Internet generally, self-correction might improve the tone and value of Internet discussion.

Implementation

A practical "to do list" type explanation of how the proposal will be implemented, and who will implement it. If there is no one to implement the proposal (as, for example, with many technical or recruitment proposals), then it is automatically declined.

Discussion

Details forthcoming!

I am totally against this policy. First, we shouldn't have to do the extra work this would entail, particularly for first drafts. Second, I have never picked up a newspaper and found errors displayed for the public from their first draft of a news story. They may keep internal records, but no public ones at the bottom of the actual newspaper article. Also, it should be taken as a given that draft articles will have a few mistakes. If you want to keep a record of errors, it should be on a separate page that only CZ people can read. David E. Volk 09:04, 28 March 2008 (CDT)

David Volk is exactly right. We of course already do have a complete file that contains all back versions and all their mistakes. We are not at all like newspapers in this regard (they are telling about their errors in original research, which we do not engage in.) Richard Jensen 09:17, 28 March 2008 (CDT)

But unlike newspapers, we have decided to present our information for public consumption before it is "complete" and fully vetted. Obviously, again unlike newspapers, we are committed to the whole philosophy of publish then filter. But these are additional reasons to adopt a self-correction policy. After all, newspapers have self-correction policies, I assume, because this improves their credibility and to give their readers a sense that they really are committed to accuracy, and are not above correcting themselves publicly as needed.

I can see creating a new Corrections subpage, but it would defeat the purpose of the policy entirely to make that page hidden from the public. --Larry Sanger 09:24, 28 March 2008 (CDT)

Although newspapers make corrections, they often hide them on page 36, hoping that nobody reads them. They also lump them into one heading as another means of hiding them. Science journals tend to do the opposite, they would say something like Correction:We cured cancer in mice, by XXX and YYY. David E. Volk 10:06, 28 March 2008 (CDT)

A good consequence of this (I am still against it in general) is that all authors are more likely to write and verify on Sandbox pages or personal computers before posting. David E. Volk 10:28, 28 March 2008 (CDT)

After more thought, I have to agree, David, that at least putting the corrections on a subpage is a good idea. I just imagine an article having that "spot" on it for years. So I'm inclined to make this time-sensitive. We will remove a correction notice after one year, and we will post corrections only if an error has appeared for more than 24 hours...well, you'll see the language. Also, I agree with the good consequence, but one of the objections I want to address is related to that: won't this make people even less "bold" about contributing? It's worth considering. --Larry Sanger 10:34, 28 March 2008 (CDT)

I can't possibly understand why anyone would be against this. There are so many reasons why this is a good idea:

• content accuracy over time - if something is incorrect or errored, then it will surely be fixed
• possibly expediting dispute resolution - creates a channel for corrective input
• enables legitimate feedback - enabling bonafide experts to have input
• can be a recruitment tool - may convince authoritative figures to sign up and or contribute
• enchance reputation - let us be known as "the source" for accurate information
• adds a level of transparency - shows that as human beings, we are not beyond infallibility, and are willing to go the distance to make it right.

--Robert W King 10:40, 28 March 2008 (CDT)

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