Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

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."

5 of 411 comments (clear)

  1. *Not* policy, just a guideline by idonthack · · Score: 5, Interesting
    OP:
    Wikipedia's policy on autobiography
    Wikipedia's page, linked to in that phrase:
    This page is considered a guideline on Wikipedia. It illustrates standards of conduct, which many editors agree with in principle. However, it is not policy.
    Emphasis mine, on both. Of course, on the same page is this:
    "It is a social faux pas to write about yourself," according to Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia's founder.
    Ooops.
    ---
    PS - This is what part of the alphabet would look like if Q and R were eliminated.
    Generated by SlashdotRndSig via GreaseMonkey
    --
    Why is it that when you believe something it's an opinion, but when I believe something it's a manifesto?
  2. It must be "beat up on Wikipedia week" by yppiz · · Score: 4, Interesting
    It seems like everyone is jumping on Wikipedia this week. Seriously, who's writing these talking points?

    --Pat

  3. He's not the only one getting caught by u2boy_nl · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Recently Adam Curry was caught changing the Wikipedia article about 'podcasting'. (You know, the amazing technology which allows you to download audio from the internet and then listen to it!!!!)

    Former MTV veejay and podcasting entrepreneur Adam Curry appears to have been caught anonymously editing the podcasting entry on Wikipedia to remove credit from other people and inflate his role in its creation.

    http://www.cadenhead.org/workbench/news/2818

  4. The latest attempt at silencing wikipedia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is just the latest FUD piece from a webzine attacking wikipedia. Many in the internet media have been attacking Wikipedia because it threatens the viability of their businesses. Despite millions of denizens' acceptence and support of wikipedia, legacy webzines continue to try and paint wikipedia as this evil rogue web venture hell bent on distorting truth. This is the sixth salvo from Wired this month alone ( http://search.wired.com/wnews/default.asp?query=wi kipedia ).

  5. Jimmy Wales makes self-promotional edits by Gregory+Rider · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is something which I have been tracking for quite some time. Most of the edits Jimbo makes to his own biography are not for the purpose of removing personal attacks, such as "I love the cock", but rather to promote his involvement in the creation of Wikipedia or downplay the fact that Bomis Babes was a softcore pornography website.

    Wales has gone so far as to have incriminating information about him and Bomis removed from the database entirely by Wikimedia developers; meaning it will not appear in either the edit history or the deleted items history.

    Here are some examples which have not (yet) been deleted from the history outright:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jimmy_Wa les&diff=27799694&oldid=27799660
    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jimmy_Wa les&diff=27799453&oldid=27756307
    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jimmy_Wa les&diff=26756907&oldid=26709690
    Above, Wales discredits Larry Sanger as co-founder as Wikipedia.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jimmy_Wa les&diff=26702273&oldid=26658959
    Discredits Sanger, strikes pornography reference.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jimmy_Wa les&diff=25994722&oldid=25960410
    Eliminates reference to Bomis Babes erotica section.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jimmy_Wa les&diff=22555355&oldid=22551871
    Eliminates reference to Bomis Babes softcore porn.


    Mind you, if anyone else on Wikipedia violated this policy, or "guideline", they would be nailed to the cross, as has been done in the past.