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Wikipedia's Wales clarifies New Yorker response
March 17, 2007
Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales has clarified his position on the veracity of Wikipedia contributors. In a previous post I commented that one contributor named Essjay had represented himself to writer Stacy Schiff as a tenured professor of religion holding a Ph.D. in theology, which she reported in a July 31, 2006 article in The New Yorker magazine. On learning that Essjay (whose real name is Ryan Jordan) holds no advanced degrees and has never taught, the magazine contacted Wales, who said of Essjay, “I regard it as a pseudonym and don’t really have a problem with it.”
Subsequently, Wikipedia announced that it will begin checking credentials of anonymous contributors claiming to be experts. And in a letter to the editor in the March 19 New Yorker (not online), Wales writes, “I am writing to apologize….” Stating that he had misjudged the issue when he last spoke to the magazine, he continues, “It was not ok for Mr. Jordan, or Essjay, to lie to a reporter, even to protect his identity. I later learned more about the deceptions involved and asked Mr. Jordan to resign his positions of responsibility at Wikipedia.”
Posted by Rick Nelson on March 17, 2007 | Comments (0)
