Army of average Joes culls through candidates' files, bios

Many hands made light work, as Mr. Marshall's readers readily took up the drudge work, knowing the effort might uncover Bush administration malfeasance.

Experts are mixed on whether campaigns would sponsor collaborative dirt-digging exercises against opponents. "I expect as soon as there is a nominee for either side ... [the campaigns] will start organizationally doing those types of research on the opponent," says David All, a GOP Internet strategist. One reader on the Democratic Party website registered his disgust with the collaborative research into Mr. Romney's finances, writing: "You are actually asking volunteers to help you prepare for negative mudslinging, for free. Some of us really, truly are sick of this kind of campaign."

There is plenty of scope for research into the issues, points out Zephyr Teachout, who was the director of online organizing for former presidential candidate Howard Dean during the 2004 election. For example, volunteers could dig into Senator Clinton's healthcare plan and show in their local communities who would or wouldn't get coverage, she says.

Even nonpartisan political projects, however, have found partisan energy to be a useful motivator for citizen contributions. A new effort called Wiki the Vote creates pages on all 2008 congressional candidates that can be edited by everyone – even campaign staff and other hyperpartisans.

"It's partially to encourage people who have an agenda and have a lot of facts. We don't want to discourage that, we want them to go nuts," says Conor Kenny, editor of the wiki, announced last week by the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation. Editors strip out rhetoric but allow imbalances of facts to be rectified organically by what he calls "the arms race factor" of partisans working to one-up each other.

Wiki the Vote contributors can draw on troves of data made more accessible by the Sunlight Foundation, including campaign finance reports. In the past, the group has teamed up professional journalists with volunteers willing to troll through the financial data.

One investigation took only 48 hours to uncover 19 House members who paid their spouses from campaign funds. Another looked into the way earmarks may have been used for personal profit or to reward political allies. These investigations require significant upfront planning to explain to volunteers what's needed and how to file.

For some writers who have tried collaborative journalism, the model raises questions about sustainability.

"People who start off doing them start off very enthusiastic, but I don't know if it's sustainable over a long period of time because they are not getting paid," says Charles Warner, a journalism professor emeritus at the University of Missouri and a participant in one of Mr. Rosen's previous collaborative projects. He says he probably wouldn't try it again.

"People that are into journalism want some kind of byline; they want somebody to read it," he adds.

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