Wisdom of the crowds works when you're able to pool a large number of independent, unbiased estimates to produce a distribution. If the crowd communicates, it is no longer independent. This produces a distribution weighted towards the answers of loudest or most persuasive fraction, which is probably going to be less accurate.
In fact, communication between crowd members in many cases significantly reduces the quality of the answers. This has been clearly demonstrated in studies of group brainstorming, where the number and quality of ideas is significantly better when group members come up with ideas independently and pool them at the end than when they come up with ideas together.
In fact, communication between crowd members in many cases significantly reduces the quality of the answers. This has been clearly demonstrated in studies of group brainstorming, where the number and quality of ideas is significantly better when group members come up with ideas independently and pool them at the end than when they come up with ideas together.