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Lawrence F. London, Jr. wrote:
> <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4502846.stm>
>
>         
> Last Updated: Tuesday, 6 December 2005, 11:47 GMT
> E-mail this to a friend         Printable version
> Wikipedia tightens online rules
> Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales
> Wikipedia founder hopes to improve the quality of entries
> Online encyclopaedia Wikipedia has tightened its submission rules following a 
> complaint.
>
> Prominent journalist John Siegenthaler described as "false and malicious" an entry on Wikipedia implicating him in the 
> Kennedy assassinations.
>
> When he phoned Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia's founder, he was told there was no way 
> of finding out who wrote the entry.
>
> Wikipedia has since removed the entry and now requires users to register 
> before they can create articles.
>
> But visitors to the site will still be able to edit content already posted 
> without having to register.

Sounds fair enough to me.

> The case has highlighted once again the problem of publishing information 
> online.
>
> 'Impulse vandalism'
>
> Unlike content published in magazines, books or newspapers, online 
> information can be posted anonymously by anyone.
I think the concerns over vandalism are over stated. Generally on 
wikipedia it is rare to find instances of vandalism and they are 
generally fixed very quickly.
>         
> The marketplace of ideas ultimately will take care of the problem but in the 
> meantime, what happens to people like me?
> John Siegenthaler
> Wikipedia has thrived on offering people the chance to contribute to a 
> collective knowledge bank.
>
> Since its launch in 2001, Wikipedia has gathered together some 850,000 articles in English as well as entries in at 
> least eight other languages on a wide range of topics.
>
> Based on wikis, open-source software which lets anyone fiddle with a webpage, anyone reading a subject entry can 
> disagree, edit, add, delete, or replace the entry.
>
> It relies on volunteers, many of whom are experts in a particular field, to 
> edit previously submitted articles.
>
> Mr Wales acknowledged that the new procedures would not prevent people from posting false information but said he hoped 
> it would limit the number of new articles being created.
>
> This, in turn, should make it easier for the 600 volunteers to edit content, 
> he said.
>
> "In many cases the types of things we see going on are impulse vandalism," he 
> said.
>
> In an opinion piece for the USA Today, where Mr Siegenthaler was the founding editorial director, the 78-year-old 
> journalist claimed that only one sentence in his Wikipedia biography was correct - the fact that he was Robert Kennedy's 
> administrative assistant in the early 1960s.
Interestingly the actual text of the wikipedia article was not in my 
opinion libalous. It stated that some people acused him of involvment in 
the assination, but it nothing was proved. Technically its probably true 
in that he was accused. However it was probably inapropriate for 
wikipedia to report rumors.

> He went on to describe Wikipedia as a "flawed and irresponsible research 
> tool".
>
> "The marketplace of ideas ultimately will take care of the problem but in the meantime, what happens to people like me?" 
> he asked.

Rich
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