Shirky's response to Danah Boyd on the recent Wikipedia debate

Andy Baio says (in Shirky's response to Danah Boyd on the recent Wikipedia debate):

Clay on Danah on Clay on Sanger; a great debate

Definitely an interesting discussion but I wonder if we are making a category error here. Talking about wikipedia in terms of its authoritativeness seems a bit like mistaking the NCSA What's New page circa 1994 for the Internet as a whole.

I expect a proliferation of collaboratively created sites, some more some less like wikipedia. Niche communities will probably build their own resources.

Wikiness in general is setting a new standards for fluidity of online documentation and the negotiation of consensus realities.

Nothing wrong with trying to build the Tower of Babel, mind you, but each one of us contains multitudes and there are branches and forks down every path.