For example, see the legislative proposal to abolis corporal punishment in public and private schools at:
http://www.socialtext.net/utah-politicopia/index.cgi?action=display_html;page_name=s_b_101_to_abolish_corporal_punishment_in_public_schools

Currently, alot of politicians are ignoring this proposal, which failed in 1997. But now with Politicopia at least citizens will have a chance to discuss the idea of ending school beatings once and for all.

Steve, thanks for the clarification. I went to a lot of effort to be as neutral and as open as possible on my own Wiki. I didn’t want it to be purely about me, but giving an opportunity to anyone who wanted to contribute to do so and be heard. That said, I think it still requires some steering from above to prevent the kind of actions that I have seen so far. I am also adamant that the legislators actually defend their policy if they are writing it. I am hoping you can encourage them to do so.

Ross, I’m sure Socialtext is making every effort to match Wikimedia. Its editor is easier to use, but its audit trail is extremly hard to understand. I see no “Restore Revision” on any page referencing revisions. I would also like to be able to see the history of edits by a user, and be able to monitor changes to my own entries. It appears it is still playing catch-up at this point.

Jessie, there is an audit trail of all edits.

Perhaps your point about extremism was not addressed directly on the website, but as I recall, it was discussed in the floor debate in the House.

I’m very sorry if someone erased your work. While I don’t know if that was error or intentional, you of course are free to put the content back up.

Also, to your specific charge, I never said that the online discussion at Politicopia, my blog and all the other blogs that discussed vouchers reached concensus. Rather, I said that the discussion helped expose that concerns over financial ruin to public education were overstated.

Quite a few legislators are watching the content on Politicopia; but, as you note, they are not getting on and driving. Clearly, the site would benefit from more users.

Lastly, don’t be so sure that the robust online discussion in the Utah Bloghive isn’t moving the abortion issue. Conversations I am having with active citizens and Representatives suggests to me that the Internet is moderating the discussion. We’ll see.

I think you are wonderful, Pete, and that you have much to add to the debate in Utah. And I sure am sorry that your experience with Politicopia has been frustrating. Maybe you experienced the same kind of learning curve with your campaign wiki, but I thought of the idea, quickly launched it, and now am running to keep up. I’d love it to be a good tool for public dialogue and would appreciate any help you could offer.

The best person to talk to concerning a public Wiki for legislators and constituents would probably be Rep. Dougall. He’s been a leading force in crafting legislation to standardize meeting calendars between all state agencies and make them available via RSS. He understands the power of technology and knows it will ONLY be useful if everyone is on the same page. To see where he’s gone with that so far, take a look at .