Site Search:
 
Speak Korean Now!
Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!
Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Scandal hits Wikipedia

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Current Events Forum
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
regicide



Joined: 01 Sep 2006
Location: United States

PostPosted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 5:23 am    Post subject: Scandal hits Wikipedia Reply with quote

in Wikipedia storm
BBC News
3/6/2007

Internet site Wikipedia has been hit by controversy after the disclosure that a prominent editor had assumed a false identity complete with fake PhD.

The editor, known as Essjay, had described himself as a professor of religion at a private university.

But he was in fact Ryan Jordan, 24, a college student from Kentucky who used texts such as Catholicism for Dummies to help him work.

He has retired from the site and his authority to edit has been cancelled.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6423659.stm
Published: 2007/03/06 14:39:15 GMT
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
jaganath69



Joined: 17 Jul 2003

PostPosted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 5:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cads and charlatans posting information on the internet! Shocked

Whatever next? Rolling Eyes
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
Troll_Bait



Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: [T]eaching experience doesn't matter much. -Lee Young-chan (pictured)

PostPosted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 5:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

One down. How many more to go?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Milwaukiedave



Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong

PostPosted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah it's pretty sad. The person in question had several positions of authority in the Wikipedia project including working for a for-profit section of Wales company. Many users are up in arms not only about the scandle, but the unwillingness of those who actually run Wikipedia to allow people to discuss it.

I've participated less and less the last year or so because of people pushing their POV into articles which makes it hard to keep them neutral.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
thepeel



Joined: 08 Aug 2004

PostPosted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 7:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't follow wikipedia stuff much, but it does seem to me that this is a sign of the health of the project. People take the neutrality of it very serious and a scandal like this may actually make it a more reliable source in the long run.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bixlerscott



Joined: 27 Sep 2006
Location: Near Wonju, South Korea

PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I love Wikepedia, but I also have been aware for quite some time that the US government controls alot of the content through wealth and power. Its not communist, you can learn how to make and smoke a gravity bong if you like or learn more history, art, and science of the world than you could in 10 lifetimes, but it does have larger interests than simply sharing knowledge though building the greatest knowledge base ever.

There are huge interests who have great wealth and power in this site. And now the tip of the iceberg is surfacing that there is conspiracy present, finally. I would hate to see this site die as it is one hell of a knowledge base, but I believe it is designed to spy on who is learning about what. A national and global security measure....Thanks Uncle Sam for wasting more money America does not have...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
mithridates



Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency

PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 8:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Milwaukiedave wrote:
but the unwillingness of those who actually run Wikipedia to allow people to discuss it.


Where?

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions&limit=50&target=Jimbo_Wales

Pretty much all his last edits are about the issue, and this page has been created as a new policy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jimbo_Wales/Credential_Verification
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
mithridates



Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency

PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 9:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is my preferred approach to the problem:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Misza13/Nobody_cares_about_your_credentials
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
On the other hand



Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue

PostPosted: Mon Mar 12, 2007 9:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Nobody cares about your credentials


This should be a basic rule for judging anyone's content on the internet, given the near-impossibility of verifying claims about academic achievements.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Current Events Forum All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

TEFL International Supports Dave's ESL Cafe
TEFL Courses, TESOL Course, English Teaching Jobs - TEFL International