From Slashdot : "A prominent Wikipedia administrator and Wikia employee has been caught lying to the media and 'other' professors about his academic credentials. Wikipedia's Essjay has been representing himself as 'a tenured professor of theology at a private university in the eastern United States; I teach both undergraduate and graduate theology. My Academic Degrees: Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies (B.A.), Master of Arts in Religion (M.A.R.), Doctorate of Philosophy in Theology (Ph.D.), Doctorate in Canon Law (JCD).' His real identity came to light after Wikia offered him a job: It turns out that he is really 24 years old with no degree living in Louisville, KY. Wikipedia's co-founder, Jimbo Wales, says 'I regard it as a pseudonym and I don't really have a problem with it.' How will this affect Wikipedia's already shaky reputation with the academic world?"
This story, about a Wikipedia editor with fraudulent credentials who was promoted to a position where he's going to be sitting in judgment on whether or not other editors have used good judgment, has caused an uproar within the Wikipedia community, and is lighting up the blogosphere. For anyone interested in following the developments, probably the best collection of links so far is at Kelly Martin's blog. My own, internal to Wikipedia, comments about the matter, in wiki-speak, at Essjay's talkpage: [1]. *Disappointed. I've seen Essjay do many good things for Wikipedia over the years, and I am confident that he can continue to do good things in the future. But to lie so blatantly about something so important, and then to have so little remorse about it, this concerns me greatly. It's one thing to choose to remain anonymous, to make small exaggerations about one's accomplishments, or to establish an innocuous fictional identity to protect privacy. It's another to create detailed fraudulent credentials as a way of boosting credibility in an academic environment.[2] Essjay didn't make up an identity like, "Father of 4 in Ohio, working as an insurance salesman." He made up an identity that was designed to maximize credibility within this culture, and within subjects where he was editing. And further, he referred to that identity as a way of establishing his credentials to ''outside'' parties.[3][4] I am, frankly, appalled at this lack of judgment, and agree that EssJay should resign from ArbCom, especially considering that he never ran for the position, but was simply directly appointed by Jimbo. I am also greatly concerned that Jimbo seems unconcerned about this kind of fraud. I would have hoped that those who are at the core of the Wikipedia culture, would have a stronger moral center. When fraud is condoned by those in power, that attitude can pervade the entire community. Leaders set the tone in a culture, and that's why it is so important that they themselves project a high standard of ethical behavior. If Jimbo wants Wikipedia to have a reputation of intellectual integrity, then he must lead by example. To condone Essjay's fraud, and to further promote such an individual within the Wikipedia hierarchy, sends the wrong message. --Elonka 00:14, 2 March 2007 (UTC)
3/1/2007 Update:
* Top link to Kelly Martin's blog
* My section at the official Wikipedia "Request for Comment/Essjay" Wikipedia Source For 'New Yorker' A Fraud |
