Wikipedia editor credentials faked
The International Herald Tribune reports that a former Wikipedia editor used fake credentials. “Under the name Essjay, the contributor edited thousands of Wikipedia entries and once was one of the few people with the authority to deal with vandalism and to arbitrate disputes between authors. To the Wikipedia world, Essjay was a tenured professor of religion at a private university with expertise in canon law, according to his user profile. But, in fact, Essjay is a 24-year-old named Ryan Jordan, who attended a number of colleges in Kentucky and who lives outside Louisville.”
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:31 am
Many people seem to put too much faith in open wikis. Much like blogs and “old school” websites, a wiki is only a good as the author. I’m a high school teacher and I still can’t believe the number of times students try and quote wikipedia as if it is gospel.