On the subject of Wikipedia and changes, am I the only person who isn’t especially exercised about the current Wikipedia sanitation furore? Perhaps I’m just a naturally cynical person: does it really surprise anyone that people and corporations are inclined to massage the entries about themselves in a publicly accessible encyclopedia?
I’m reminded of the uneasy relationship between Guildford Conservative MP Anne Milton and Tim Ireland’s blog, which discovered last summer that somebody from within the House of Commons was repeatedly altering Anne’s Wikipedia entry to remove any reference to the blog.
Undoubtably, the publicity that’s blown up around the edits and the availability of Virgil Griffith’s scanner will discourage all but the least technically aware from meddling unduly with their Wikipedia entries.
Those who are still tempted should perhaps first try a Google search for ‘Guildford MP‘ or ‘Anne Milton‘, and note that Anne’s Wikipedia entry still links to Tim’s blog.
