But did they go far enough?
Following a complaint by journalist John Seigenthaler over false allegations that he was somehow involved in the Kennedy assassinations Wikipedia have decided to tighten its rules. They now require users to register before posting new articles. However people can still edit existing articles without registering which is totally stupid really.
Wikipedia is a fantastic resource but when it comes to certain subjects it becomes useless because it’s so easily abused by every malicious Joe with an agenda, as highlighted by the lads on Slugger. Back to the drawing board Vicipéid.
Wikipedia tightens rules
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And there’s me after singing it’s praises over on my blog…the thing about Wiki is, like ALL text in any book from any source, you the reader MUST retain an open mind and be aware of its source. Given the knowledge that anyone can edit the info contained therein at any time, you should be wary of your assumptions. IMHO it is still a damn good source of background info.
I wouldn’t trust Wiki nearly as much as a published book, some of the content on Wiki is very dodgy especially when it comes to politics etc.
But I agree overall it is a great resource for finding information.
Yes, there have been kerfuffles over the Fweedom Institute’s entry there, for example.
(Full disclosure: I put in some swiftly-deleted edits on the FI’s roots in the PDs/FG)