An article on Digg caught my eye this morning. Seems some non-profit foundation has given the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization responsible for Wikipedia, almost 900K USD to make Wikipedia “easier to use”.
OK. No problem so far. (Well, I’m a bit shocked that they think it’ll take 900K to fix the entry edit interaction…I could design AND validate a better interaction for less than 1/10th of that amount…)
I’ve edited Wikipedia entries and it’s no picnic. What I take exception to is C|NET columnist Caroline McCarthy referring to folks who have trouble with Wikipedia’s editing tools as “Luddites”.
The problem with this cavalier putdown is that it perpetuates the attitude, held by many technophiles, that anyone who can’t easily use a complex system is stupid, lazy, or both, and that they small-mindedly shun new technology.
C’mon now. People who can’t slog their way through the entry edit flow are *not* Luddites. They’re just regular people. The idea that they’re Ludditical (I just coined that, props to me…) devalues the admirable goal of fixing a poorly designed interaction on an Internet resource that is regularly used by millions of people.
Wikipedia gets $890,000 for the Luddites :: The Social :: CNET News
