stacy schiff - the current dowdsub - is actually pretty damn good. this piece, though, is a bit random, especially in lumping wikipedia into a general decline in the truth. it's not like there's never been an error in the brittanica, and the wiki concept is good in part precisely because it will lead to truth in the long run, because it makes use of the expertise of thousands. on the other hand, she's certainly right to be puzzled by the wikitorial concept. on the third hand, i never really quite got hold of the idea of the editorial period, because the concept of group opinion, much less of opinions of institutions, are deeply problematic. the locus of opinion is a human individual and the expressive tool for it is an individual voice or pen. is an editorial the opinion of the paper's owner? of the consensus of the editorial board? the fact that it's no one's and everyone's opinion is reflected in the fact that editorials are usually dull, predictable, and  plodding. you need a voice to articulate an opinion.
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