Journal #2, Jan 25

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/wikipedia-may-restrict-publics-ability-to-change-entries/?ref=technology&apage=1#comments

The online website wikipedia.com is one of the top 10 web sites on the Internet. Wikipedia is known as the website of everything. On Wikipedia you can add or change information about someone or something. It’s like an encyclopedia where everyone can add their input of the facts. But now administrators of the website are putting a lock on who is allowed to put their input on to the website because there have been several incidents of “vandalism”. One example was when a couple of “vandals” incorrectly reported that Senator Edward Kennedy and Robert Byrd had died. Now Wikipedia executives are trying to implement a new system call Flagged Revisions. This new system would only allow registered, reliable users to add their writings to the viewing of the general public. The Flagged Revisions system has been used by the German Wikipedia since May as a test case. According to Wikipedia creator, Jimmy Wales, “This nonsense would have been 100% prevented by Flagged Revisions”.
Wikipedia is an encyclopedia first and foremost. It is not a platform for vandals and persons seeking self promotion. As a user of Wikipedia, I have always thought that all the material on the website was true. Now that I know that there are people out their falsifying information on the website, it kind of puts it in perspective that some of the information I used might have been not true. I think that the Wikipedia administrators are doing their best to try to help stop and correct all of these erroneous pieces of information that people put on the website. The Flagged Revision is a small step to fixing the problem. If only the registered and reliable users are allowed to add their part to the articles then there should be no problem about false information. Anything that will make the truth come out in the articles is going to be a benefit to everyone