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'''[[PageName:=Wikipedia scandals]]''' that have arisen in [[February]] and [[March]] [[2007]] appear to be having an adverse impact on daily financial donations to the [[Directory:Wikimedia Foundation|Wikimedia Foundation]].  The downward slide closely mirrors a number of ethically questionable decisions by key administrators of [[Directory:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]].

'''Wikipedia scandals''' are the all-too-frequent ethical lapses that pervade [[Wikipedia]].  This page will attempt to document some of those that are worth saving for history, since otherwise they will likely be whitewashed out of Wikipedia culture.

==Essjay is not a professor==

 

A wave of problems began with a decision by Wikipedia co-founder [[Directory:Jimmy Wales|Jimmy Wales]], when he hired a 24-year-old college dropout named [http://www.wikipedia-watch.org/gifs/wmessjay.png Ryan Jordan] to work at Wales' for-profit corporation Wikia, Inc.  The hiring decision was made, even though Wales apparently knew Jordan had been passing himself off to the Wikipedia community (and to ''The New Yorker'' magazine's Pulitzer Prize winning [[Interviewed By:=Stacy Schiff]]) as a tenured professor [http://www.wikipedia-watch.org/gifs/essjay5.png holding multiple advanced degrees].

==Background==

The current problems began with a decision by Wikipedia co-founder [[Directory:Jimmy Wales|Jimmy Wales]], when he hired a 24-year-old college dropout named [http://www.wikipedia-watch.org/gifs/wmessjay.png Ryan Jordan] to work at Wales' for-profit corporation Wikia, Inc.  The hiring decision was made, even though Wales apparently knew Jordan had been passing himself off to the Wikipedia community (and to ''The New Yorker'' magazine's Pulitzer Prize winning [[Interviewed By:=Stacy Schiff]]) as a tenured professor [http://www.wikipedia-watch.org/gifs/essjay5.png holding multiple advanced degrees].

Further aggravating the issue, Jordan (whose Wikipedia screen name was "Essjay") was soon appointed by Wales to the highest volunteer adjudicating body within Wikipedia -- the Arbitration Committee.

Further aggravating the issue, Jordan (whose Wikipedia screen name was "Essjay") was soon appointed by Wales to the highest volunteer adjudicating body within Wikipedia -- the Arbitration Committee.

When ''The New Yorker'' outted Ryan Jordan's academic fraud, their editors contacted Jimmy Wales for comment.  Wales was quoted with the now infamous, "I regard it as a pseudonym and I don’t really have a problem with it."  This set off a firestorm of criticism, both within Wikipedia and external to the world's largest encyclopedia community.  Especially damaging seemed to be the numerous administrative cover-ups that attempted to hide the historical wiki record of Essjay's actions and the community debates that followed.

When ''The New Yorker'' outted Ryan Jordan's academic fraud, their editors contacted Jimmy Wales for comment.  Wales was quoted with the now infamous, "I regard it as a pseudonym and I don’t really have a problem with it."  This set off a firestorm of criticism, both within Wikipedia and external to the world's largest encyclopedia community.  Especially damaging seemed to be the numerous administrative cover-ups that attempted to hide the historical wiki record of Essjay's actions and the community debates that followed.

==The financial consequences==

===The financial consequences===

The Wikimedia Foundation enjoyed a total of $3,477 in donations on February 23rd, the day Essjay was elevated to ArbCom status.  Contrast this with a total of only $739 made on March 18th, less than one month later.  This represents a 79% drop in daily contributions!  As the details and implications of these scandals continue to be disseminated, nobody can say if donations will continue to flag or whether they will eventually rebound.

 

The Wikimedia Foundation enjoyed a total of $3,477 in donations on February 23rd, the day Essjay was elevated to ArbCom status.  Contrast this with a total of only $739 made on March 18th, less than one month later.  This represented a 79% drop in daily contributions!   

==Wikia / Wikimedia finances==

==Wikia / Wikimedia finances==

I heard that the person who is in charge of the Wikimedia Foundation's finances is the very same person who is in charge of the for-profit Wikia, Inc.'s finances.  Is that true? --[[User:Dude Manchap|Dude Manchap]] 03:56, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

I heard that the person who is in charge of the Wikimedia Foundation's finances is the very same person who is in charge of the for-profit Wikia, Inc.'s finances.  Is that true? --[[User:Dude Manchap|Dude Manchap]] 03:56, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

The lesson here, of course, is not so much that what Heidi Wyss had done was so terribly wrong, but rather that Wikipedia is corrupt from the very top down.  Thus, we should not be surprised as observers when these conflicts of interest are exposed; indeed, we should be surprised that such conflicts are not revealed more often... because what gets publicized is only the tip of the iceberg.

The lesson here, of course, is not so much that what Heidi Wyss had done was so terribly wrong, but rather that Wikipedia is corrupt from the very top down.  Thus, we should not be surprised as observers when these conflicts of interest are exposed; indeed, we should be surprised that such conflicts are not revealed more often... because what gets publicized is only the tip of the iceberg.

==External links==

==External links==