Encarta will be open book to would-be editors

It happens all the time: You read an entry in an encyclopedia or other reputable source and think, “That’s not right” or “They forgot this!”

Microsoft Corp.’s Encarta encyclopedia is testing a system that lets everyone be an editor — in theory at least. Readers can suggest edits or additions to entries, although the changes are vetted by editors before they reach the page.

Encarta is not requiring such novice editors to identify themselves, said Gary Alt, Encarta’s editorial director. But it is asking them to reveal the source of their information if possible, and the editorial staff will check for both factual errors and evidence of bias.

This is in contrast to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, which lets anyone instantaneously make changes, even delete entries, regardless of whether that person has any expertise in the subject.

Encarta has added research editors and fact checkers to handle the volume of edits it expects to receive when the system goes live, perhaps as early as this week.

Meetup.com to impose fees

Groups of Michael Moore fans, stay-at-home moms, Dungeons & Dragons players and pug owners face a choice this month: Should their organizers pay a monthly fee to stay with Meetup.com?

The Web site, best known for bringing together supporters of Howard Dean during last year’s presidential election, is instituting a $19 monthly fee for new groups. Current groups can pay a $9 monthly rate at least through the end of the year.

Meetup quoted Bob Dylan to explain the fees: “You gotta serve somebody.” Its site also said, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

The formerly free service brings like-minded people together by letting visitors pick an interest, like speaking Japanese, then enter a ZIP code to see if there’s an event at a coffee shop, bar or other nearby venue.

Web reporters get backing

Online journalists filed a brief last week supporting three Web site reporters who wrote about a top-secret product Apple claims was protected by trade secret laws.

In December, Apple sued 25 unnamed individuals — possibly Apple employees — whom it claims leaked confidential product information to three Web publishers.

In Apple’s attempts to identify the source of the leaks, the company subpoenaed an Internet provider and demanded it turn over some of the reporters’ e-mail records. After a judge in San Jose upheld the subpoena last month, the reporters appealed.