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Wikipedia Founder Edits Own Bio

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the poor-choices dept.

Carnildo writes "Wired News reports that Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has edited his own entry in the online encyclopedia at least 18 times, in violation of Wikipedia's policy on autobiography. Edits included removing phrases describing Larry Sanger as a co-founder of Wikipedia, and changing phrasing describing Bomis.com, another of Wales' sites, as a pornography site."

1 of 411 comments (clear)

  1. Wow, lots of anger so far... by deacon · · Score: 5, Informative
    All modded +5 of course...

    And not much analysis of facts on the ground.

    Let's Begin:

    Claim 1 from Wired:

    Public edit logs reveal that Wales has changed his own Wikipedia bio 18 times, deleting phrases describing former Wikipedia employee Larry Sanger as a co-founder of the site.

    If Larry Sanger was a co-founder, (I don't know and don't have time to check) deleting that fact is at the very least petty and vindictive. It does not really matter if it is or is not against some "code" or "guideline". Giving credit where credit is due is the right thing to do. Deleting credit over and over again... well, you will each come to your own conclusion.

    Claim 2 from Wired:

    Cadenhead said other Wikipedia editors described Bomis Babes as "soft-core pornography," but Wales changed it to "adult content section" on Sept. 4, and later twice removed references to pornography, instead describing it as "Bomis Babes blog based on Slashcode."

    Going to Bomis Babes here: http://www.bomis.com/tree/babe gives me two sponsored links at the top of the page, cut and pasted one of them below:

    Searching for Porn?

    Sponsored Link

    Find the Best Subscription Sites Search XXX Videos, Pics & More

    FantasyFinder.com/CreditCardRequire

    So at the very least the site has no problem with advertising for porn. Trying to find some pics, I find links to ring sites, cut and pasted below:

    Hot Asian Sucking Whores

    Sponsored Link

    Cute Japanese School Girls Sex $14.95/Mo

    Huge. No Limits. Ad Free!

    www.guba.net

    Still no pics. Maybe the site is just a search engine for porn, with no pics? Beats me, and with the lack of immediate pics I don't care, but "porn related" seems a fair claim.