CZ:Managing Editor/2014/001 - Decision to invite experts to submit author-owned citable-articles in special namespaces

Statement of the problem

This decision targets the problem of the small number of content contributors to Citizendium. Its ultimate aim is to increase the number of content contributors to Citizendium. It begins with a project of inviting experts, including academics and other specialists, to submit articles, under their own byline, to one of several new Citizendium namespaces. The submitted articles, reviewed by an appropriate Editor, if found suitable for publication in Citizendium, will be located in the citable version section of the appropriate namespace.

This decision also speaks to those who voice cogent arguments for reorganizing Citizendium to render it unique compared to other wikis building knowledge bases. This decision, if implemented vigorously and effectively, would take a step in that direction. It's open to future development, and to overriding or modifying by the Citizendium Council.

Pertinent existing policy

Charter

The Managing Editor did not find any article in the Charter that would not permit this decision. It does permit the Managing Editor “to make interim decisions on behalf of the Citizendium Council when established policy does not provide guidance; these decisions shall be overridden by the establishment of relevant policy.”

Citizendium Council

In the form of a proposal, this decision was submitted to the transitional Citizendium Council but received comments from only one member.

Because “author-owned, citable-version” constitutes a new type of article for Citizendium, the Citizendium Council may wish to assign a different license type to allow the author of the citable version to have copyright.

Draft decision

Citizens may invite experts, including academics and other specialists, to submit articles, under their own byline, to one of several new Citizendium namespaces. A citizen who wishes to tender such an invitation shall notify the Citizendium Council and await approval before submitting the invitation. The Citizen shall provide the Council the information about the potential invitee needed for Council to assess the proposal, as well as a copy of the invitation's text. The expert’s submitted article, reviewed by an appropriate Editor, if found suitable by the Council for publication in Citizendium, will be located in the citable version section of the article's appropriate namespace.

In addition to locating the article in the citable version section in the appropriate namespace, the article will also be located in the main article section, open to editing by the members of Citizendium. The main article would contain a header that reads: ”This is an editable version of a non-editable citable version written by and signed by (insert name of author of the citable version). The edited main article and its talk page will serve as suggestions for the author of the citable version to consider incorporating into an updated version of his bylined article.”

The new namespaces will include initially the following:

• Hypotheses
• Research Proposals
• Topic Essays
• Topic Literature Reviews
• Interpretive Book Reviews
• Topic Opinions
• Primers
• Historical Perspectives
• Evolutionary Perspectives
• Philosophical Perspectives
• How-To Tutorials

A standard email letter of invitation, modifiable appropriately for each invitee by the inviting Citizen, will be written by the Citizendium Council Chair in collaboration with the Council members. After checking their website or profile on academic sites, invitees will automatically be given membership in Citizendium upon acceptance of a submitted article. They will be encouraged to write new encyclopedia articles for the main namespace and to edit existing ones.

Current and future Editors of Citizendium may also submit articles in those new namespaces, subject to Council approval.

The welcome page will list the new namespaces and link to them.

SAMPLE LETTER TO INVITEES

Dear,

I am writing as an Editor for an online, free, general knowledge encyclopedia called Citizendium (http://en.citizendium.org). Citizendium may be considered a second-generation Wikipedia-like encyclopedia, one major difference being that all contributors use their real names, which Citizendium will verify. This eliminates anonymity, anonymity related vandalism, and commercial or self-aggrandizing efforts.

I write to invite you to submit an article in any one of the following categories:

[List the new namespaces here]

Your article will be located as a citable article and will be locked for editing by any other user. Your name will be designated as the author of the article. A copy of the article will be located where users can edit it and discuss aspects of it. You may consider that as feedback to ignore or consider incorporating into an updated version of your citable article. You might find that feedback useful for ideas or considerations you hadn’t thought of.

There is no fee involved in submitting or having your article accepted and published. Unless you choose otherwise, we will enroll you as a user in Citizendium, which would permit you to write regular encyclopedia type articles or edit existing articles in collaborative progress.

If you have any questions about this, please email me.

Sincerely yours,

(Insert letter writer’s name and Work Group, e.g., John Doe, Anthropology Editor for Citizendium) Email Address