[LM_NET] wikipedia biography: why not simply edit?

[Brent Bradley <bsb_lib@YAHOO.COM>]

    I understand your point, and you are correct: he could have simply changed the 
information on Wikipedia. He would not, however, have been able to change the 
information on Answers.com or Reference.com. But simply changing the text would not 
have erased the erroneous information. Wikipedia saves previous posts, allowing 
users to see the history of the site and see what edits have been made. Beyond 
that, what is the potential negative to not being able to discover the identity of 
this person? According to the article (and I'm not sure this isn't true), the 
original creator cannot be tracked. If that is true, anyone can slander anyone on 
Wikipedia with no fear of retribution. Perhaps this person simply knows well how to 
cover up their tracks. Perhaps with enough resources (money) anyone could be 
tracked. I simply don't know, but the story is chilling. I am concerned that the 
ability to slander has the potential to be a fatal flaw for this type of site. It 
must be addressed.
   
  "Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder why this guy 
didn't change his bio when he saw it was false???   Isn't 
that the point of a wiki?
Monica Williams-Mitchell
Seton High School
Cincinnati, OH
wmitchellm@setoncincinnati.org"




***
"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social 
transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence 
of the good people."
--Martin Luther King
***
Brent Bradley, LMS at Valley View Community & Henry Wilson Memorial in Farmington, 
NH
bsb underscore lib at yahoo dot com

                        
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