CNN Article on Wikipedia Restricting Submissions

[genXer]

Just saw this about Wikipedia. Wikipedia will now start requiring users to register because of supposed false allegation placed on someone.

Link: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/interne....ap/index.html

While I have gotten some good, or at least what I think is good, information off of that site, I wonder if the quality of the information will go up or down, along with the quantity of posts?

[The Texan]

It should makes things better... I use Wiki as a GUIDE not facts since it it user edited... but its a good starting place for info.

[[WebCarnage]]

Um... why was that journalist complaining?

He could've just editted Wikipedia to portray himself correctly.


Seriously, people are idiots.

[HTRegz]

Hey Hey,

While I have gotten some good, or at least what I think is good, information off of that site, I wonder if the quality of the information will go up or down, along with the quantity of posts?

I honestly don't think we'll see much change.... As they said in the article, it takes 15-20 seconds to register and you don't require an email address... The registration is useless... they're just trying to shut up a loud mouth journalist...

Peace,
HT

[Tedob1]

just like everything else on the internet...started by a group of people for the betterment of mankind and then along come the ass-holes.

Originally posted here by [WebCarnage]
Um... why was that journalist complaining?

He could've just editted Wikipedia to portray himself correctly.


Seriously, people are idiots.

http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/g...oid=oid%3A8295

Apparently, I'm a gay pilot living in Provincetown

He commutes to Boston daily by single-engine aircraft from the Provincetown, Massachusetts home he shares with his partner, a novelist." --From the "Michael Graham" article on Wikipedia.org

Alas, I have never flown in a single-engine plane, much less piloted one. I've never been to Provincetown, though I hear you can get some excellent advice on window treatments there. And while my lovely bride, The Warden, is an excellent writer, our four kids have dramatically slowed the progress on her first novel, tentatively titled No Gay Man Is Dumb Enough To Date My Husband.

That's it. An entire man's life, loves, hopes, and dreams reduced to a single sentence and available around the world. As a firm believer in shameless self-promotion, I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't find out I was in Wikipedia until September 21, almost a year -- and 29 entry changes -- later.

On February 7, somebody changed my description to "conservative talk show host." In May, an anonymous poster posted the details of my visit to a pro-illegal immigration rally wearing an "INS" T-shirt. A funny story, but hardly history in the making.

Then the story changed again. The rally opposing the Real ID Act (fact) suddenly became merely a "rally supporting area immigrants." Reports that I was detained by the police but eventually allowed to enter the rally because of First Amendment issues were deleted, then replaced by claims that I was banned by the cops entirely and threatened with arrest.

Then came July and my infamous "Islam" imbroglio. A brief posting featuring a pointedly anti-Graham slant on my suspension by ABC radio over comments linking Islam and terrorism (what a novel idea!) appeared on July 29. On August 12, the Islam portion of the article disappeared entirely. On August 23, a more pro-Graham version was posted, along with links to friendly media coverage of the story.

Seven hours later, the pro-Graham post was replaced by yet another anti-Graham article. The battle was on: 10 different versions of the "truth" of my life were posted in 24 hours. In some versions, I'm a martyr for free speech whose firing inspired a storm of protest from an outraged public. In others, I'm a bigot whose firing ("after careful review of the incident" by ABC Radio) was received by an evenly-divided public.

Finally, a friend called me and said, "Say, have you seen what they're doing to you on Wikipedia?"

Huh? Wazzat?

On December 2, my life as a Provincetown playboy began.

Last time I checked, my Wikipedia article was still filled with mistakes, errors, and out-and-out lies, available for viewing by millions. I have asked Wikipedia to simply delete the article altogether. They have thus far declined, no doubt fearing the tremendous blow to academia such a loss would represent.

[bballad]

It should make it better, or at least the accuracy of the articals coudn't get any worse.

WebCarnage: you have either never dealt wit hthe wonderful cult that is wikipedia or are one of them. See according to wiki rules you cannopt edit articals on yourself...well that is unless you are the founder, or one of his friends..or soemone that the cult finds cool, if you are one of them the rules don't apply.

And even if that rule wasn't in place you would be considerd an expert on yourself, any posting by an expert in the feild the post is about will be removed they tend to hate experts there.

[genXer]

Quick update from the Register. A German publishing house, Directmedia, is working to make with Wikipedia to go into print and DVD:

Link: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12...ipidia_on_dvd/

Story:

Wikipedia waddles onto DVD and print in Germany
Almost for free

By Jan Libbenga

Published Friday 9th December 2005 15:36 GMT

German publishing house Directmedia is taking Wikipedia offline. The German version of the online encyclopedia will be available on a DVD and in print, Heise online reports.

The DVD is available as a free 7.5GB ISO image which you can burn on a DVD. A previous version, which was released in the spring, contained only 2.7GB of data. The new DVD has 200,000-300,000 entries, all in German, and contains more than 100,000 images. The publisher only uses articles from writers who are known to be reliable. However, on the previous DVD were at least a hundred copyrighted articles taken from a DDR Lexika. After the slip-up was discovered, Directmedia immediately replaced the DVD image.

The print version of Wikipedia will be sold for a nominal fee - €9.90 - to cover expenses. The publisher can't claim copyright. Wikipedia publishes everything under a GNU Free Documentation Licence, the same licence used by developers of open-source software.

According to Wikipedia's founder, Jimmy Wales, content from the web site may also be burned onto CDs and DVDs for computer users in places like Africa, which lack access to the internet. ®

Hopefully, the issues or non-issues with correctness of Wiki entries will be resolved before the Spring release of the DVD.

Also saw another article about Wiki questioning the organizations practices.

Link: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/06/wikipedia_bio/

Now what I find interesting about this is that a journalist is the one complaining about something written about them; versus when normal people are portrayed in a light(s) that do not suit or fit them.