Suggested essays

Editing Ethical Management of the English Language Wikipedia/Suggested essays

The following are suggested essay subjects. What makes for a good essay subject in this project is something that is revealing concerning ethical management of the English language Wikipedia, but yet has no clear cut "answer". If it did, then we should not tease you by not simply giving you the answer. So, the first clue to writing an essay on any of these suggested topics is that there is no right answer.

Who founded Wikipedia?

Clues:

Define "founded" and "wikipedia" and what counts as a "who".
Ask what is more important: a general idea, a specific idea, implementing an idea, paying for the implementing of an idea, or something else?
Is the "real" father the one who one who raised you or your biological father or both?
What ethical issues do you encounter while researching this question?

Suggested google possibilities:

Jimbo Wales,
Larry Sanger,
Bomis,
Richard Stallman,
Clifford Adams,
Magnus Manske,
Lee Daniel Crocker,
Ward Cunningham,
volunteers around the world.

What can governance models teach us about the ethical management of Wikipedia?

Clues:

How many distinct governance models do you know about?
Can you recognize which governance model is in operation at any given juncture in an online community?
What are the ethical issues associated with any given governance model?

Suggested google possibilities:

Monarchy
Oligarchy
Hierarchy
Republic
Democracy
Ochlocracy
Anarchy