Wikipedia wants more user-friendly editing

By Andrew Vanacore

updated 6:03 p.m. ET Dec. 3, 2008

NEW YORK - Concerned that many would-be contributors to Wikipedia are being scared away, the foundation that runs the Internet encyclopedia is getting a $890,000 grant to try to make the editing process more user-friendly.

Anyone can contribute to Wikipedia, but clicking on the "edit" button brings up a jumble of coding mixed with plain English paragraphs. There are buttons on the top of the page that eliminate any need for users to write their own coding, but the Wikimedia Foundation has acknowledged for several years that the unfamiliar feel of the editing process probably turns off people who could otherwise make valuable contributions.

"Wikipedia attracts writers who have a moderate-to-high level of technical understanding, but it excludes lots of smart, knowledgeable people who are less tech-centric," Sue Gardner, the Wikimedia Foundation's executive director, said in a statement Wednesday.

The foundation has snared an $890,000 grant from the Stanton Foundation for the project and plans to assemble a five-person team to identify what exactly is turning some users off. In particular, the foundation said it will look at hiding more technical elements of the site that contributors don't necessarily need to see.

MORE FROM TECH AND GADGETS

Tech and gadgets Section Front

Online holiday shopping is trickier this year What your Facebook photo says about you Auction site launches for millionaires only Tagged.com settles with states in invite fight Sony offers ‘Cloudy’ for buyers of Internet TVs French president's Facebook photo disputed Google book-scan deal deadline is now Friday 16 Apple products we can only dream about 5 Apple marketing tactics that lock you in Facebook’s fantasy games cost more than time Tech and gadgets Section Front   Add Tech and gadgets headlines to your news reader: