One of Wikipedia’s founders is planning to launch a rival site, according to the Daily Mail. Wikipedi is a favorite of college students, news junkies and just about anyone who needs a random fact; the term “Wiki” means that it publicly written and maintained by a volunteer staff. It has pretty much no competition that users don’t have to pay for.

But I’ve previously noted that Wikipedia has long been plagued by the fact that anyone can put anything they want on it. Articles with political ramifications often get edited back and forth until the site’s managers close them to changes. Take, for example, the entry on gun scholar John Lott, who waged a posting war with his critics for some time before the entry was shut down. It’s not rare at all for “this page has been closed to editing due to previous vandalism” to appear at the top of an entry.

On Citizendium, anyone will be able to submit articles, but acceptance will be determined by editors who can prove their expertise. The site should launch in a few days under a select few editors, backed by undisclosed financial investors.

This is an improvement over Wikipedia, provided the owners can continue to finance it. Also, hopefully it will force Wikipedia to make some changes of its own.

Robert VerBruggen blogs at http://robertsrationale.blogspot.com.