Wikiversity

Should Wikipedia and related wikis allow anonymous IP editing?

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Wikipedia and related wikis allow anonymous IP editing. Is it a good thing or rather something to be abandoned?

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Pro

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  •   Pro Allowing anonymous IP addresses to edit creates something like a beneficial soft drug (of editing), which can lure editors to become serious registered editors later.
    •   Objection It is unclear whether luring people to spend their time and attention online on wiki without significant act of volition is actually ethical.
  •   Pro Disallowing IP editing is likely to somewhat reduce the volume of useful edits.
  •   Pro As per W:Wikipedia:IP editors are human too, "You are an IP too", which can be interpreted as saying that registered accounts are also IPs.
    •   Objection Untrue. A registered user account is not an IP account, and a person who has a registered user account is a person, not an IP address. (Ontology matters.)
    •   Objection Being a human is not an automatic indication of goodness (skill, intent, etc.), and therefore, there does not seem to be any deep significance of the predicate in "IP editors are human too". (Stupid people are human too; undisciplined people are human too; unskilled people are human too; malevolent/ill-wishing people are human too; etc.)

Con

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  •   Con Anyone serious about substantially improving the wiki should have enough time and attention on their hands to create an account. While there would be some loss of, say, minor corrections, arguably, the loss is tolerable.
  •   Con Presenting oneself only via an IP creates a burden on the memory and cognition of those who view edits by the person or interact with the person. Put differently, numerical identifiers are not as cognitively friendly as alphanumeric names.
  •   Con Requiring the hurdle of an account registration provides a disincentive for vandals to vandalize, thereby preventing "dirtying" revision histories.
  •   Con Anonymity contributes to poor behavior online. People all too often say things that they would not say in a face-to-face interaction.
    •   Objection That may be true, but registered accounts are also de facto anonymous (they are pseudonymous, but that come out as nearly the same).
      •   Objection Fair point. However, psychologically, an IP may feel more anonymous than a registered user account.
        •   Objection An interesting point. However, the stated hypothesis is an empirical one and requires proper verification. Absent verification, the above is a speculation.
  •   Comment Medical MDWiki run by Wiki Project Med Foundation does not allow anonymous IPs: "Editing is restricted to registered and approved individuals"[1]. It remains to be seen how well it works for the project.

Further reading

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