There is a neat innovation that is going to happen with the German Wikipedia (if it hasn’t already). The engineered response to vandalism is going to give the community a new weapon: Version Flagging.
In Wikipedia, it is not uncommon for controversial articles to be subject to edit wars or vandalism. When the problem gets too severe — a key criteria being its public visiblity — then administrators can protect a page, thus locking others out from edits. Once the flames have died, the page is unprotected and editing resumed. There is also a level of semi-protection, which just restricts the newest and most anonymous members from editing.
The German WP adds a new wrinkle to the semi-protected status by allowing anyone to edit but preventing the newest/most anoymous user changes from being made visible. This protects the reader from most problems but takes a step back toward wikiness of open editing.
I love wikis, but I also have a healthy respect (influenced greatly by my WebLab experience) for the idea of accountability. Anonymous editing may be the Wiki Way, but I think the act of creating a user account does have some meaning for both the individual and the community. A wiki can still be open in the sense that anyone can edit, but I think there is a level of personal commitment that goes with a username … even if it has nothing to do with revealing who you really are.
