I wrote an article for the Encyclopedia Britannica about a
decade
ago, when there was only the e-version, and it has appeared
there
since; when they reprinted the whole set in 2002 my article
(biography of St. Augustine) was not regarded as pressingly
important enough to be included in the limited number of
pages
they were willing to alter. But I remain on their books as a
contributor and so see mail from them, including a note
today
offernig various new features and then a link to a press
release
which suggests an interesting change of tactic.
First, the "feature":
"Very soon there will also be *new editing tools* so
that
contributors such as yourself, and general readers as well,
can
suggest updates and revisions to our content. These
revisions and
suggestions will continue to go directly to the editors. In
other
words, *we are not instituting a wiki*: all revisions and
suggested changes will continue to be vetted by our
editorial
department. These new tools will replace our current
feedback
system, which will need to be temporarily disabled as we
launch
the new site."
Now the press release below (curtailed: in full at
http://britannicanet.com/). I would welcome guidance on
understanding the phrase "anyone else who publishes
regularly on
the Internet".
Jim O'Donnell
Georgetown U.
***
April 29th, 2008 by Tom
Britannica Opens Site for Free Access to Web Publishers,
Linking
CHICAGO, April 29, 2008 - Bloggers, webmasters, online
journalists and anyone else who publishes regularly on the
Internet can now get free subscriptions to Britannica Online
(www.britannica.com).
Anyone interested in participating in Britannica's new
WebShare
initiative can apply for a free subscription at
http://signup.eb.com or
get more information at
http://britannicanet.com.
The free subscriptions are part of Britannica's effort to
increase awareness and use of its extensive information
resources, which include articles written by many top
scholars,
some of them Nobel laureates.
"It's good business for us and a benefit to people who
publish on
the Net," said Britannica president Jorge Cauz.
"The level of
professionalism among Web publishers has really improved,
and we
want to recognize that by giving access to the people who
are
shaping the conversations about the issues of the day.
Britannica
belongs in the middle of those conversations."
In addition to the free subscriptions, Web publishers can
also
bring the value of Britannica's content to their own sites
by
linking to any articles they find relevant to the topics
they're
writing about.
Access to much of the site, including full-text entries from
the
Encyclopaedia Britannica, normally requires a paid
subscription.
There's an exception to that rule, however: When a Web site
links
to a Britannica article Web surfers who click on that link
get
the article in its entirety.
****
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