CZ:Managing Editor/2013/001 – Modifying the Functionality and Policy of Signed Articles

Statement of problem
Signed articles have not flourished in Citizendium, or contributed much to its knowledge base. Approximately 4% of Citizendium’s total articles have a Signed Article subpage. A smaller percent of Approved Articles have Signed Article subpages.

This Managing Editor Decision will modify the existing policy of the functionality of Signed Article articles, with the intention of (a) increasing Signed Article’s contribution to Citizendium’s knowledge base, and (b) attracting more registered members.

Charter
The Charter does not specifically discuss policy regarding Signed Articles, and, in particular, does not restrict them to a subpage of a Main Article.

Pre-Charter policy
CZ:Signed Articles, written predominantly by Citizendium’s former Editor-In-Chief, Larry Sanger, unapproved and still open for editing, states the purpose of Signed Articles: My Decision will keep that central purpose.

CZ:Signed Articles also states an ancillary purpose: My Decision will accord with that ancillary purpose, but will consider it not so much ancillary as a major purpose, and will add that the Decision also allows members of the Citizendium community to enter into relations with knowledgeable individuals outside the community who might wish to use the resources of our wiki and community, while still allowing them to take exclusive credit for a piece of work.

CZ:Signed Articles also states: My decision will accord with that objective.

CZ:Signed Articles also states: My decision would eliminate the injunction that ”The main namespace is reserved for collaboratively written, unsigned articles only“. The text of the Decision will clarify the new policy and describe its benefits. Although excluding Signed Articles as Main Articles has prevailed since Citizendium’s inception, no post-charter official confirmation has appeared.

CZ:Signed Articles also states: My decision will continue that practice.

CZ:Signed Articles also states: My decision will continue that policy.

Decisions by the governing bodies
No motions passed relating Signed Articles by either Management or Editorial Council.

Draft decision

 * The text below is what I plan to decide in this case. Feel free to edit the text if you think this improves it. If your edits require discussion, please use the dedicated section below. Editing and discussion in this "Draft decision" section shall stop following my last edit in response to comments, as indicated by a statement at the end of Draft Decision that editing is closed.


 * Knowledgeable members of the Citizendium community and knowledgeable persons not members of the Citizendium community may submit signed articles for consideration of publication as a Main Article in Citizendium’s basic unit, a cluster of subpages.


 * Articles submitted must qualify as one of the following types:
 * Literature Review
 * Book Review
 * Essay
 * Primer
 * Historical Perspective
 * Philosophical Perspective
 * Synopsis
 * How-To Tutorial
 * Hypothesis

A section below provides definitions, descriptions, explanations, and examples of those types.


 * Except for the Talk subpage (Discussion tab), the Main Article and the other subpages will accept editing only by the signed author or authors, or persons designated by the senior author of the article.


 * If that cannot be established for technical reasons, a notice will be placed before the lede declaring that this article is a signed article that does not qualify as an encyclopedia-type entry and therefore is not open to editing except by its author(s). Use the Talk page for comments, suggested edits, etc. DO NOT EDIT THIS ARTICLE UNLESS YOU ARE ONE OF ITS DESIGNATED AUTHORS.


 * Non-members of the Citizendium community whose submissions for publication are approved must register with Citizendium as author or Editor under their real name.


 * Citizendium members will submit potentially acceptable articles as subpages of their User Page, using subsections corresponding to what will become subpages if the article is accepted for publication as a Main Article.


 * Non-members of the Citizendium community will submit their articles in word processor format, using subsections corresponding to what will become subpages if the article is accepted for publication as a Main Article.

Information regarding eligible types of Signed Articles
Literature Reviews: to review the literature relating to a specific issue, question, topic. Narrow in focus. See: (Literature Reviews. The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A Handout. 2010-2012.)

Controversies: to discuss a current or historical controversy.
 * How did John Dalton discover his atomic theory?
 * The mechanisms of aging.

Book reviews: to inform readers about the contents of a book, the argument developed or story outline, reception by critics and readers, etc.
 * For examples, see book reviews in journals, magazines, and newspapers.

Essays: to narrate a particular perspective on a topic pertinent to any Workgroup, whether not related a Main Article in that Workgroup.
 * For examples, see The Best American Essays 2012 at http://www.amazon.com/Best-American-Essays-2012/dp/0547840098/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359429367&sr=1-1&keywords=essays#_

Historical Perspectives: to narrate the history of a topic, whether or not related to a Main Article in the Workgroup; If related to a Main Article, to provide a historical perspective if the Main Article does not have such a perspective, or, if the Main Article has a historical perspective, to elaborate and expand on it.

Philosophical Perspectives: to narrate a philosophical perspective on a topic, whether or not related to a Main Article in the Workgroup; If related to a Main Article, to provide a philosophical perspective if the Main Article does not have such a perspective, or, if the Main Article has a philosophical perspective, to elaborate and expand on it.

Primers: to provide an introduction on the basic elements of an aspect of the Main Article, or if no related Main Article, to provide the basic elements of a topic that might inspire users to start a Main Article inspired by the Primer.

Synopses: to provide a summary of a Main Article for a more general audience than the audience targeted by the Main Article; to provide a synopsis of a book or scholarly article.

Hypotheses: to present a plausible and testable hypothesis, the background for it, its implications, how to test it.

How-to Tutorials: to narrate, with or without PowerPoint slides, on how to perform certain procedures or activities.

Discussion of draft decision

 * Suggestions for improvement will be greatly appreciated.