I kind of have an idea.
It should be pretty easy to take GreaseMonkey (there's different names for different browsers, but it's pretty much available for most modern browsers) and make a script for it that highlights anything that's recently changed and highlights anything that has been changed above a certain threshold number of times within a certain specified date range.
So, if it has been edited within the past 7 days - highlight it. (mouseover to see edit history) If it has been edited (or reverted) more than twice in the past 30 days - highlight it. (again with mouseover)
But, I'm not sure how to get people to use it and how to make people actually pay attention to it.
Well getting people to use it and pay attention too it is simple marketing if you have a product that meets a niche and is better than your competitors then people will use it. If I've learned nothing else in my career its that. First to market is valuable of coarse but if someone comes along and makes something that wipes the floor with what you have and you don't innovate the new product will take market control. Perhaps we do need to make a competitor if for no other reason than to force wikipedia to innovate.
There are competing wiki sites - but none have the momentum, entrenchment, and first-to-market that The Wikipedia Foundation has.
For ease into the mind-share, I'd pretty much (unless something drastic happens) expect the only way to get into changing minds would be to get some sort of extension like that and somehow get it popular.
I donate to 'em on a regular basis, but I don't have any contacts there. I guess, I could try sending them an email and suggest that they do something like that as a default, from within the site's code itself, and not need it as an extension/GreaseMonkey script.
I'm 99.9% sure I'll be ignored. But, I could try that? I do have a slight advantage. I can send it from an .edu address. That opens up a lot of doors, believe it or not. That's about the only time I use that address or use the honorary title. They're great for getting doors open! ;-)
You should! If that doesn't work then I'll just do what I always do and face impossible odds and win. I'm not one to shy away from a good challenge.
They could easily break/block it with a little effort, that will force people to update their GM script and will eventually stop by getting bored.
That'd be really bad optics - and I'm not sure that they'd care, but it might get some publicity.
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