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Worst of Wikipedia/Elonka Dunin

2011-02-10T14:21:49Z

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{{Self-published|date=November 2008}}
{{Like-resume|date=November 2008}}
{{Infobox Celebrity
| name = Elonka Dunin
| image = Elonka 6653.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = Elonka Dunin, 2006
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1958|12|29}}
| birth_place = [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]], [[California]]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = [[Video game developer]]
| salary =
| networth =
| spouse =
| children =
| website = [http://www.elonka.com www.elonka.com]
| footnotes =
}}
'''Elonka Dunin''' ({{pronEng|ɪˈlɔŋkə 'dʌnɨn}}); (b. 29 December 1958) is a game developer<ref name="nyt"/> at [[Simutronics Corp.]] in [[St. Louis, Missouri]]. She is one of the founders of the [[International Game Developers Association]]'s [[Online Games]] group, and was editor in chief on IGDA State of the Industry [[White paper#Commercial white papers|white papers]].

Dunin has published a book of exercises on [[classical cryptography]] in two editions, and she maintains a web-site on the ''[[Kryptos]]'' sculptural [[cryptogram]], located at the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] headquarters in [[Langley, Virginia|Langley]], [[Virginia]]. Although she practices cryptography as an amateur,<ref name="Science Now"/><ref name=NPR/><ref name="Science"/> she is referred to as a [[cryptanalyst]] in several media reports on the ''[[Kryptos]]'' sculpture.<ref>{{Citenews|title=London Lawyers Turn Into Code-Breakers|publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]''|date=2006-04-27|url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/27/AR2006042701765.html}}</ref><ref name=NPR>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5356012 "Enigmatic CIA Puzzle ''Kryptos'' May Be Flawed"] [[NPR]] All Things Considered, April 21, 2006</ref><ref name="nyt">{{citenews|title=A Break for Code Breakers on a C.I.A. Mystery |author=Kenneth Chang||date=2006-04-22|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|url= http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CE5DA153FF931A15757C0A9609C8B63}}</ref> She has given several lectures on the topic,<ref name=nsa>{{cite web|url=http://kryptos.yak.net/50|title=NSA Cryptologic History Symposium in 2005 |publisher=kryptos.yak.net|accessdate=2008-11-13}}</ref><ref name=defcon>[http://althing.cs.dartmouth.edu/secref/resources/defcon12/dc-12-speakers.html#dunin Defcon 12: Kryptos and the Cracking of the Cyrillic Projector Cipher]</ref> and according to the [[PBS]] series ''[[NOVA scienceNOW]]'' she is "generally considered the leading ''Kryptos'' expert in the world."<ref name="PBS">{{cite news|url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/video/3411/q03-220.html |publisher=''[[NOVA scienceNOW]]''|date=July 2007|title=''Kryptos''|accessdate=2007-10-13}}</ref>

==Biography==
Dunin graduated in 1976 from [[University High School (Los Angeles, California)|University High School]]. She was enrolled as an undergraduate at [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]], majoring in [[astronomy]]{{Fact|date=November 2008}}, for roughly one year, after which she joined the [[United States Air Force]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elonka.com/articles/tommarello.html|title=Tommarello Interview with Elonka Dunin|publisher=elonka.com|accessdate=2008-11-13|quote=Elonka does not have a college degree, but has a wide breadth of practical experience to draw upon. After dropping out of college, she spent six years in the Air Force as an Avionics Instruments System Specialist.}}</ref> working as an [[avionics]] technician at [[RAF Mildenhall]] in the United Kingdom and [[Beale Air Force Base]] in California.<ref name=stccbr/>

==Online games==
In 1990, Dunin moved to [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] and began working for the online game company [[Simutronics]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Games People Play |work=St. Charles Journal |date=January 9, 1994}}</ref><ref name=stccbr>{{cite news | title=Elonka Dunin's ability to crack codes is stuff books are made of | work=St. Charles County Business Record | date= August 28, 2006 | author=Stage, Wm.}}</ref>Simutronics launched its own website, play.net, in 1997 with Dunin as Supervisor of Online Games.<ref>{{cite news |title=Trends: Nice Work If You Can Master It |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |first=Jennifer |last=Pendleton |page=6 |date=1997-08-18}}</ref> In 1999, she held the position of general manager of Simutronics' on-line community.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Pure Internet play. Simutronics' online games. |journal=[[Inc. (magazine)|Inc]] |first=Nancy K |last=Austin |volume=21 |issue=15 |pages=p. 75 |date=October 19, 1999}}</ref> Dunin was the product manager for ''[[GemStone III]]'', executive producer for the ''[[Hercules (TV show)|Hercules]]'' and ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]''-based multiplayer game ''Alliance of Heroes'', and worked on the development of most of Simutronics' other products, including ''[[CyberStrike 2|CyberStrike]]'', ''Modus Operandi'', ''[[DragonRealms]]'' and the upcoming ''[[Hero's Journey (computer game)|Hero's Journey]]''. She currently is the "General Manager of Online Community". She is a founding member of the [[International Game Developers Association]]'s [[Online game|Online Games]] [[Special Interest Group|SIG]] and senior editor of two of their annual White Papers on various aspects of the online game industry: "Web and Downloadable Games" and "Persistent Worlds."{{Fact|date=November 2008}}

== Cryptanalysis ==

In interviews with GIGnews.com, Dunin said that in the year 2000 she cracked the [[PhreakNIC]] v3.0 Code, an amateur cryptographic puzzle created by a [[Hacker (computer security)|hacker group]].<ref name="GIGnews">{{cite web |url=http://www.gignews.com/goddess/dunin.htm |title=A Chat with Elonka Dunin |work=GIGnews.com |first=Melanie |last=Cambron |month=May |year=2002 |accessdate=2008-10-31}}</ref>{{Verify credibility|date=November 2008}}<ref name="pn6">[http://phreaknic.info/pn6/schedule.html PhreakNIC 6 schedule]</ref>

According to the ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'', in 2003 Dunin was "leading the charge" to decode a ''Kryptos'' sister sculpture, the ''[[Cyrillic Projector]]''.<ref name="Post-Dispatch">{{cite news |url=http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/92251953766AB8FE86256DBA00139A45?OpenDocument |title=Woman sets sights on code on CIA sculpture |work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |first=Eli |last=Kintisch |date=2003-10-08 |archiveurl=http://www.elonka.com/mirrors/STL/sights.html |archivedate=2004-03-11}}</ref> An article in the periodical ''[[Science Now]]'', followed by another in the journal ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'', reported that Mike Bales, a computer programmer in Michigan and Frank Corr, a computer programmer in North Carolina had decrypted the [[ciphertext]] in September 2003, and that Dunin performed the final translation of the [[plaintext]] from [[Russian language|Russian]] — a language that neither Bales or Corr knew.<ref name="Science Now">{{cite journal |url=http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2003/1007/3 |title=Cryptic Sculpture Cracked |journal=[[Science Now]] |first=Charles |last=Seife |date=October 7, 2003 |archiveurl=http://elonka.com/kryptos/mirrors/ScienceMagazine.html |archivedate=2004-03-11}}</ref><ref name="Science">[http://www.sciencemag.org/content/vol302/issue5643/r-samples.dtl Cyrillic Riddle Solved] ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'', vol 302, 10 Oct. 2003, page 224</ref> The article in the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' details that Bales was "on Dunin's team."<ref name="Post-Dispatch"/>

Dunin and Chris Hanson are co-moderators of a Yahoo group that attempts to decipher the ''[[Kryptos]]'' sculptural cryptogram, and she also maintains a comprehensive website about the sculpture.<ref name="nyt"/><ref name=wired06>{{cite news|title=Typo Confounds Kryptos Sleuths|author=Kim Zetter|date=[[2006-04-20]]|publisher=[[Wired News]]. CondéNet, Inc.|url=http://wired.com./science/discoveries/news/2006/04/70701|}}</ref> Because of its location on [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] grounds, physical access to ''Kryptos'' is restricted. According to [[Wired News]], in 2002, she give a presentation to CIA analysts about [[steganography]] and [[al-Qaida]].<ref name="wired05">{{cite news |url=http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/01/66334 |title=Solving the Enigma of Kryptos |publisher=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired.com]] |first=Kim |last=Zetter |date=2005-01-21 |accessdate=2008-10-31}}</ref> According to the same source, "[i]n 2002, Dunin was one of the lucky few who saw the works in person", and "she also made [[rubbing]]s of the text". During her visit, "[a]lthough she wasn't allowed to snap photos of ''Kryptos'' while there, her CIA guides arranged to have an official photographer take pictures of her standing next to it."

The plaintext of the first three out of four sections of the message engraved on ''Kryptos'' has been publicly revealed in 1999 by
California computer scientist [[Jim Gillogly]]. According to an article in ''[[The New York Times]]'', in 2006 [[James Sanborn]], the artist who created the ''Kryptos'' sculpture, contacted Dunin to point out an error in the decryption.<ref name="nyt"/> The error was caused by a missing letter ''x'' in the ciphertext, which was intentionally omitted by Sanborn "for aesthetic reasons, to keep the sculpture visually balanced."<ref name=wired06/> Sanborn later confirmed to Dunin the correct plaintext.<ref name="nyt"/> Despite this progress, the last section of ''Kryptos'' remains undeciphered.

In 2006, Dunin published a book of 600 exercises in [[classical cryptography]], ''The Mammoth Book of Secret Code Puzzles''. An abridged version (400 exercises) was simultaneously published in the UK. The book includes a few details about Kryptos.<ref name=wired06/> In July 2007 she appeared on the [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] program ''[[NOVA scienceNOW]]'', as an expert on ''Kryptos''.

==Public speaking==

Dunin gave talks on ''Kryptos'' and the ''Cyrillic Projector'' at [[NSA Cryptologic History Symposium]],<ref name=nsa/> [[Def Con]] 12,<ref name=defcon/> [[Shmoocon]] 2006,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shmoocon.org/2006/presentations.html|title=ShmooCon |publisher=www.shmoocon.org|accessdate=2008-11-13}}</ref> and [[Notacon]] 3,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.notacon.org/archive/2006/speakers.html|title=NOTACON |publisher=www.notacon.org|accessdate=2008-11-13}}</ref> and a talk on [[steganography]] at [[PhreakNIC]] 6.<ref name="pn6"/> She also gave lectures at [[Dragon*Con]],{{Fact|date=November 2008}}, and the [[GDC|International Game Developers Conference]].<ref name="dragoncon">{{cite web |url=http://www.dragoncon.org/people/dunine.html |title=Dragon*Con Biography: Elonka Dunin |work=Dragoncon.org |year=2000 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20010308165958/http://www.dragoncon.org/people/dunine.html |archivedate=2001-03-08}}</ref><ref name="cmpevents">{{cite web |url=https://www.cmpevents.com/GD08/a.asp?option=G&V=3&id=92209 |title=Game Developers Conference 2008 Speakers: Elonka Dunin |work=CMPEvents.com |accessdate=2008-10-31}}</ref> She has been invited to be a co-host on the [[Binary Revolution]] webcast three times.<ref name="binrev">[http://www.binrev.com/radio/archive.php Episodes #78, #99 and #156], ''Binary Revolution'', interviews by David Blake.</ref>

== Books ==
* {{cite book |title=The Mammoth Book of Secret Codes and Cryptograms |publisher=Carroll & Graf |location=New York, United States |author=Dunin, Elonka |date=April 2006 |isbn=0-7867-1726-2}}
* (abridged edition) {{cite book |title=The Mammoth Book of Secret Code Puzzles |publisher=Constable & Robinson |location=London, United Kingdom |author=Dunin, Elonka |date=April 2006 |isbn=1-84529-325-8}}

== Co-authored chapters in white papers ==

* IGDA Online Games White Paper, 2002. [http://igda.org/online/IGDA_Online_Games_Whitepaper_2002.pdf PDF]
* IGDA Online Games White Paper, 2003. [http://www.igda.org/online/IGDA_Online_Games_Whitepaper_2003.pdf PDF]
* IGDA Web & Downloadable Games White Paper, 2004. [http://igda.org/online/IGDA_WebDL_Whitepaper_2004.pdf PDF]
* IGDA Persistent Worlds White Paper, 2004. [http://igda.org/online/IGDA_PSW_Whitepaper_2004.pdf PDF]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.elonka.com Elonka Dunin's website]
* [http://www.unfiction.com/compendium/2003/01/02/on-pixels-and-puzzles-and-pi/ January 2003 Unfiction interview with Elonka Dunin]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunin, Elonka}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Alumni of University High School (Los Angeles, California)]]
[[Category:American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Recreational cryptographers]]
[[Category:People from Santa Monica, California]]
[[Category:Puzzle designers]]
[[Category:United States Air Force personnel]]
[[Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni]]
[[Category:American video game designers]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

[[pl:Elonka Dunin]]
[[simple:Elonka Dunin]]

Worst of Wikipedia/History of western Eurasia

2011-02-10T14:17:59Z

Zimm2: /* See also */

:''This article was copied from Wikipedia, where (after a prolonged dispute between editors) it was eventually deleted as irreparable.''

West [[Eurasia|Eurasia]] is an area bounded by the [[Sahara|Sahara]] and the [[Indian_Ocean|Indian Ocean]] to the south, the [[Atlantic|Atlantic]] to the west, and the [[Arctic_Ocean|Arctic Ocean]] to the north. Significant movements of people have entered the region from the East across the [[Steppe|steppe]]s. Nonetheless, the steppes have, for much of history, been lowly populated and so the interaction of [[West_Eurasia|West Eurasia]] with [[East_Eurasia|East Eurasia]] had been indirect.

==Early Classical==

[[Cyrus_II_of_Persia|Cyrus the Great]] after having successfully rebelled and overthrown the Median King, invaded [[Lydia|Lydia]] in [[546_BCE|546 BCE]] and conquered it. In [[538_BCE|538 BCE]] he overran [[Babylonia|Babylonia]]. Along with the conquest of [[History_of_ancient_Egypt|Egypt]] by his son [[Cambyses_II_of_Persia|Cambyses]] the [[Achaemenid_dynasty|Persian Empire]] reached an unprecedented size for West Eurasia. Cambyses' plans to continue west against [[Carthage|Carthage]] came to nothing when the [[Phoenicians|Phoenicians]] refused to participate - Carthage had taken pains to maintain its links with its mother city [[Tyre_%28Lebanon%29|Tyre]].

The [[Greco-Persian_Wars|Greco-Persian Wars]] (circa [[500_BCE|500 BCE]] - [[448_BCE|448 BCE]]) between the [[Achaemenid_dynasty|Persian Empire]] and the [[Ancient_Greece|Greek city states]], resulted in a stalemate and Persian Kings from them on chose a policy of [[Divide_and_rule|divide and rule]]. This allowed Persia to regain control of the Ionian cities of [[Anatolia|Anatolia]] at the end of the [[Peloponnesian_War|Peloponnesian War]] but the policy was most successful during the [[Corinthian_War|Corinthian War]]. However [[Philip_II_of_Macedon|Philip II of Macedon]] secured a [[Hegemony|hegemony]] over the Greek city states. In [[334_BCE|334]] Philip's son [[Alexander_the_Great|Alexander]] crossed into Asia, and in a series of campaigns conquered the Persian Empire. Though on his death, in [[323_BCE|323]], [[Diadochi|war between his generals]] divided his Empire, the [[Hellenistic|Hellenistic]] age was marked by a spread of Greek culture and language thru much of Western Asia and Egypt.

By this period a large area of Europe including north [[Italy|Italy]], [[France|France]], parts of [[Iberian_Peninsula|Iberia]] and the [[British_Isles|British Isles]], was dominated by [[Celt|Celtic]] culture. In [[279_BCE|279 BCE]], a group of Celts led by [[Brennus_%283rd_century%29|Brennus]] invaded [[Macedon|Macedon]] and broke thru [[Thermopylae|Thermopylae]], looting [[Delphi|Delphi]] before being driven off. A section of them crossed over into [[Anatolia|Anatolia]] the next year and the area where they were to settle became known as [[Galatia|Galatia]]. The [[Scythia|Scythians]] the nomads who had till then dominated the steppe area north of the [[Black_Sea|Black Sea]], were driven out of the [[Balkans|Balkans]] by Celtic tribes around this period. They were to come under pressure from the related [[Sarmatians|Sarmatians]] from the East to whom they gradually succumbed over the next 100 years.

[[Roman_Republic|Rome]] had been gradually completing the conquest of Italy and the only major city to hold out in the south was [[Taranto|Tarentum]]. When Tarentum stumbled into war with Rome, in [[282_BCE|282 BCE]], it appealed to [[Pyrrhus_of_Epirus|Pyrrhus of Epirus]]. Pyrrhus also attempted to drive out the [[Carthage|Carthaginians]] from [[Sicily|Sicily]] but was eventually [[Battle_of_Beneventum|defeated]] at [[Benevento|Beneventum]]. In [[264_BCE|264 BCE]] Rome went to war with Carthage and in the course of the [[First_Punic_War|First]] and [[Second_Punic_War|Second Punic War]] Rome secured dominance in the Western [[Mediterranean|Mediterranean]] despite [[Hannibal|Hannibal]]'s invasion of Italy. [[Philip_V_of_Macedon|Philip of Macedonia]] had allied with Hannibal and because of this Rome went to war with Macedonia in [[200_BCE|200 BCE]]. The resulting [[Second_Macedonian_War|Second Macedonian War]] broke [[Macedon|Macedonian]] power in Hellas.

The [[Seleucid_dynasty|Seleucid Empire]] had been reestablishing its traditional preeminence in the Eastern Mediterranean under [[Antiochus_III_the_Great|Antiochus III the Great]] taking the long coveted [[Coele-Syria|Coele-Syria]] from the [[Ptolemaic_Dynasty|Ptolemids]] after the [[Battle_of_Panium|Battle of Panium]] in [[198_BCE|198 BCE]]. War between Antiochus and Rome broke out when Antiochus entered Greece in alliance with [[Aetolia|Aetolia]]. Driven out of Greece he was defeated at the [[Battle_of_Magnesia|Battle of Magnesia]] in [[198_BCE|198 BCE]].

==Roman dominance==

Magnesia secured Roman dominance in the Mediterranean region. The destruction of Carthage and [[Corinth|Corinth]] in [[146_BCE|146 BCE]] merely confirmed this. Despite this, Greek culture and [[Ancient_Greek_religion|religion]] remained dominant in the East [[Mediterranean|Mediterranean]]. Indeed Greek [[Syncretism|Syncretism]] accommodated [[Roman_religion|Roman Gods]] as merely the different names of Greek Gods - Celtic Gods were to be similarly co-opted later. On the other hand the revolt of the [[Maccabees|Maccabees]] in [[Judea|Judea]] was merely the rejection of Greek culture for which we have the most detailed records. Probably, the establishment of [[Parthia|Parthian]] rule over Persia represented at the time a far more significant rejection of Greek culture even though the extent that it represented the reestablishment of [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrianism]] to dominance is uncertain due to our lack of reliable sources. [[Art_in_Ancient_Greece|Greek artistic taste]] had already been spread by the conquests of Alexander, the Roman conquest of Greece was to spread it across much of Western Europe. Roman art did show other influences however such as [[Etruscan_civilization|Etruscan]] in [[Roman_architecture|Roman architecture]].

Though Roman expansion seems quite unstoppable this was an unstable period. According to [[Peter_Green_%28historian%29|Peter Green]], in this period a large number of people were [[Slavery_in_antiquity|enslaved]] due to the large number of wars and this explains the large number of slave revolts in this period. [[Piracy|Piracy]] was on the increase because Rome cut down to size those navel powers who had kept piracy in check but was slow to take on the responsibility herself. During this period of roman expansionism arqueological evidence points ou to a great increase of the volume of trade in the mediterranean sea, with increased by 200% to 300%, from the 3th century Bc to the 1st century. This appears to indicate that the political unification of the mediterranean sea estimulated economic progress.

Roman dominance was so great that it was able to indulge in a series of civil wars without serious risk. Only [[Mithridates_VI_of_Pontus|Mithridates]] King of [[Pontus|Pontus]], was able to exploit Roman disunity, and during the [[First_Mithridatic_War|First Mithridatic War]] ([[88_BCE|88 BCE]]-[[84_BCE|84 BCE]]) he overran Anatolia and sent an army to invade Greece which was defeated by [[Lucius_Cornelius_Sulla|Sulla]] in [[85_BCE|85 BCE]]. Indeed, the rivalry between generals helped to fuel expansion as in [[Julius_Caesar|Caesar's]] conquest of Gaul. In [[53_BCE|53 BCE]], the Roman general [[Crassus|Crassus]] trying to match Caesar's prestige invaded Parthia but was killed at the battle of [[Carrhae|Carrhae]] - this was the first lasting check on Roman expansion. The era of civil wars came to end with [[Caesar_Augustus|Octavian]]'s victory at [[Battle_of_Actium|Actium]] in [[31_BCE|31 BCE]] and this is the point designated for the transition of the Republic to the [[Roman_Empire|Roman Empire]]. Along with the annexation of Egypt, Augustus expanded the Empire at a number of points, the most significant was the series of campaigns from [[14_BCE|14 BCE]] to [[8_BCE|8 BCE]] in [[Dalmatia|Dalmatia]] and [[Panonia|Panonia]] which pushed the Roman border up to the Danube along with and invasion of North Western [[Germania|Germany]] in [[9_BCE|9 BCE]]. The revolt of the Danube provinces in [[6|6]] CE was to be suppressed but it was immediately followed by a [[Germanic_tribes|German]] revolt and the defeat of [[Battle_of_the_Teutoburg_Forest|Teutoburger Wald]] in [[9|9]] CE.

In the wake of the Teutoburger Wald disaster, Augustus faced reality and gave advice to his successors to stick to the borders he had achieved. That advice was in the main kept until the reign of [[Claudius|Claudius]]. Under Claudius a number of vassel states were annexed and in [[43|43]] CE the island of [[Roman_conquest_of_Britain|Britain was invaded]]. The empire reached its maximum extent under [[Trajan|Trajan]] who had completed his conquest of the Thracian kingdom of [[Dacia|Dacia]] in [[106|106]] and in [[113|113]] launched a war against [[Parthia|Parthia]] conquering [[Mesopotamia|Mesopotamia]] and placing the pliable [[Parthamaspates|Parthamaspates]] on the Parthian throne. On Trajan's death, however, [[Hadrian|Hadrian]] withdrew from Mesopotamia.

Even at its height Rome ruled less than half the West Eurasian region but dominates the history because the vast majority of the population, wealth and surviving written history were located within its borders. Beyond the borders, as well as the Celtic remnant in Ireland and Scotland, in Europe there were the Germans and Sarmatians - the Sarmatian [[Jazyges|Jazyges]] now grazed the Hungarian plains. The [[Venedes|Venedes]] who Roman historians occasional mention may have been Slavs living further North or may have been some otherwise unknown people. To the West of the Parthians, the [[Tocharian_languages|Tocharian]] speaking [[Kushan_Empire|Kushans]] had established an Empire that extended into [[India|India]] some of whose rulers adopted [[Buddhism|Buddhism]].

The Parthian weakness that had allowed the Romans to annex the area around [[Edessa%2C_Mesopotamia|Edessa]] as Upper Mesopotamia opened the way to [[Ardashir_I_of_Persia|Ardashir]] to rebel and overthrow the Parthian king in [[224|224]], so founding the [[Sassanid_dynasty|Sassanid dynasty]]. Though Rome was weaker than in its goldem age, she was able to hold their own against them - not so the Kurshans who were overrun by the Persians.

In [[235|235]] [[Maximinus_Thrax|Maximinus Thrax]] was proclaimed emperor by his troops which marks the start of the [[Crisis_of_the_Third_Century|Crisis of the Third Century]]. Civil war was not new to the Roman Empire but instead of a brief succession dispute this period is notable for large sections of the Empire being ruled separately for prolonged periods. On some level West Eurasia again become a multi polar world. While [[Diocletian|Diocletian]] who was proclaimed Emperor in [[284|284]] may have ended the crisis he institutionalized a division of the empire, the [[Tetrarchy|Tetrarchy]], that proved to be stable only so long as Diocletian was in place to keep it together. Renewed division ensued almost as soon as Diocletian resigned to ended when [[Constantine_I_%28emperor%29|Constantine I (emperor)]] defeated his last rival at the [[Battle_of_Chrysopolis|Battle of Chrysopolis]] in [[323|323]]. Constantine's elevation brought to prominence [[Christianity|Christianity]] which quickly established it as the state religion - being adopted also by many Germanic tribes though they in the main followed the variant of Christianity [[Arianism|Arianism]] which had been the orthodoxy at the time most of them converted.

By the middle of the 4th Century the Germanic [[Ostrogoth|Ostrogoth]]s had established a large kingdom north of the Black Sea. According to tradition (or legend?) it was huge, extending to the [[Baltic_Sea|Baltic Sea]].

==The Fall of Rome==

In [[376|376]] the [[Huns|Huns]] attacked the Ostrogothic kingdom. The Ostrogoths were defeated and the defeated Germans were soon on the banks of the Danube clamoring to be allowed to cross into the safety of the Roman Empire. [[Valens|Valens]] the emperor based in Constantinople reluctantly agreed. His misgivings were confirmed when things got out of hand. In [[378|378]] the Roman army was defeated at the [[Battle_of_Adrianople|Battle of Adrianople]] and Valens killed during the rout. In the wake of the battle the Balkans were devastated but [[Theodosius_I|Theodosius I]] the new Eastern Emperor gradually recovered the Roman position and he successfully defeated rival emperors in the East. After his death a period of instability and Germanic incursions, especially in the [[Western_Roman_Empire|Western half of the Empire]], culminated in the [[Sack_of_Rome|sack of Rome]] by [[Alaric_I|Alaric I]] of the [[Visigoth|Visigoth]]s in [[410|410]]. By now a quite a diverse number of Germanic tribes along with a group of [[Alans|Alans]] were residents of the Western Empire. Whenever a strong leader emerged at the head of the Empire these tribal groups were forced back into limited areas. Whenever the current Roman leader died a prolonged power struggle ensued which the tribal confederacies took advantage of. At least North Africa was safe from raids - until a [[Vandal|Vandal]]-Alan tribal alliance crossed the straits of Gibralter in [[429|429]]. Meanwhile the Huns north of the Danube had established a huge hegemony, forcing virtually all Germanic tribes outside the Roman Empire into submission. This did at least stabilize Germany to the extent that there were no new influxes of Germans until the Huns under [[Attila_the_Hun|Attila]] decided to invade the Empire themselves. The climax of the resulting conflict was when [[Flavius_A%C3%ABtius|Flavius A�tius]] organized a mixed German-Roman force that forced Attila back at the [[Battle_of_Chalons|Battle of Chalons]], in [[451|451]].

In [[453|453]] Attila died in bed with his new wife. The hunish empire collapsed. Aetius who had long ruled in the name of the boy Emperor [[Valentinian_III|Valentinian III]] met his end when Valentinian now an adult, decided the only way he could become a true emperor was to kill Aetius. The result was the traditional Roman power struggle in which Valentinian lost his life and Germanic power grew beyond the point of no return. In [[476|476]] the German [[Odovacar|Odovacar]] staged a coup in which the current emperor, [[Romulus_Augustulus|Romulus Augustulus]] was deposed. This is the traditional date for the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Though Odovacar paid lip service to the authority of [[Eastern_Roman_Empire|Eastern Roman Empire]], Constantenople wasn't fooled and in [[489|489]] dispatched the [[Ostrogoths|Ostrogoths]] under [[Theodoric_the_Amal|Theodoric the Amal]] who established their own kingdom in Italy. This left the Eastern Empire intact but the Western Empire divided into four kingdoms. Along with the Ostrogoths in Italy the Visigoths ruled Spain, the [[Salian_Franks|Franks]] Gaul and the Kingdom of the Vandals and Alans, North Africa.

These changes changed Western Eurasia from an unipolar world to a multipolar world. In the area of the Western Roman Empire the centralized tax funded state defended by a standing army had been swept away. Christianity provided some continuity but the decline in secular literacy along with the increasing independence of the Papacy, no longer beholden to the Emperor, opened the way to a very different direction of development. (The Fall of the Roman Empire: Peter Heather)

==A multipolar subcontinent==

The Eastern Empire survived in part because its main rival the Sassanids had troubles of their own fending off attacks from the steppes by the [[Hephthalite|White Huns]]. From the beginning of the 6th century the Sassanids began to contain this threat and were again able to be an annoyance to the Eastern Empire. Nevertheless the Emperor Justinian was able to dispatch [[Belisarius|Belisarius]] against the Vandals. Despite very forces he succeeded, Carthage falling in [[533|533]]. Justinian�s next target the Ostrogoths who were only finally defeated in [[552|552]] at [[Battle_of_Busta_Gallorum|Busta Gallorum]].

In [[557|557]] the Turks burst into the sub continent driving before them the [[Rouran|Rouran]] and defeated the White Huns. This allowed the Sassanids to move their border up to the Oxus. The Rouran and the White Huns joined forces and as the [[Eurasian_Avars|Avars]] moved west and established a large hegemony north of the black sea. The Avars then expanded even further westward onto the [[Pannonian_plain|Pannonian plain]] intervening on the side of the [[Lombards|Lombards]] against the [[Gepids|Gepids]]. The Gepids were crushed in [[567|567]] but the Lombards found their new neighbors too powerful for safety and abandoned their territory to descend on Italy capturing many of the inland cities that could not be supplied by sea.

In the north west the realm of the Franks under the [[Merovingian|Merovingian]]s had become the dominant power but as it was often divided this did not have much wider impact.

Byzantine forces secured the Sassanid throne for [[Khosrau_II_of_Persia|Khosrau]] at the [[Battle_of_Zab_%28591%29|Battle of Zab]] in [[591|591]]. Khosrau was now personally indebted to the Byzantine emperor [[Maurice_%28emperor%29|Maurice]] and so with his rear secure he concentrated on defeating the Avars. However his stern discipline provoked a mutiny and he was murdered by the usurper [[Phocas|Phocas]]. Khosrau then declared a war of vengeance against the murderer of his benefactor bringing Byzantium close to disaster so enabling [[Heraclius|Heraclius]] to overthrow Phocas. In a war of two decades Heraclius took Byzantium from the brink of collapse to the point where the Sassanids were forced to make terms in [[628|628]]. These long years of warfare had almost no significant result - except to leave both the Sassanid and the Byzantine Empires exhausted.

==Enter the Arabs==

In [[629|629]] an Arab raid on Byzantine Syria was the harbinger of the onslaught by Arab armies against the exhausted Sassanid and the Byzantine Empires. United by the monotheistic religion [[Islam|Islam]] they inflicted decisive defeats on the Byzantines ([[Battle_of_Yarmouk|Battle of Yarmouk]] in Syria) and the Persians ([[Battle_of_Kadisiya|Battle of Kadisiya]], [[637|637]]). By [[642|642]] they had [[Islamic_conquest_of_Egypt|overrun Egypt]] and by 650 the [[Islamic_conquest_of_Persia|Sassanid Empire had been completely conquered]]. The Arab [[Khalif|Khalif]]ate was marked by the complete lack of division between religion and statecraft. Hence the [[First_Islamic_civil_war|civil war that broke out in 656]] was both dynastic and religious. This did at least give the Byzantines something of a respite but nonetheless they failed to prevent the [[Islamic_conquest_of_North_Africa|Arab conquest of North Africa]] which they completed by [[709|709]]. Many [[Berber|Berber]]s converted to Islam and these made up a large section of the force which crossed over in Visgothic Hispania in [[711|711]]. After their defeat at the [[Battle_of_Guadalete|Battle of Guadalete]] the Visigoths were quickly overrun.

At least the Byzantines no longer had to worry about the Avars who had lost control over their [[Slavic_peoples|Slav]] vassals but as these Slav tribes had overrun all the Balkans (including most of Greece) this did not help the Byzantines much and their only really sizable territory was Anatolia.

Though the Byzantine Emperor's rule over Rome was becoming more and more nominal he still expected the pope to jump as if he had. When [[Leo_the_Isaurian|Leo the Isaurian]] fearing that Arab victories could be due to their abhorrence of idolatry ordered the destruction of icons around [[730|730]]. The resulting [[Iconoclasm|Iconoclastic]] controversy allowed the Pope to assert his independence culminating in his excommunication of the Emperor.

In the north west the Frankish realm was moving beyond its era of disunity. A massive raid from Islamic Spain culminated in the [[Battle_of_Tours|Battle of Tours]] , and this battle both demonstrated how [[Charles_Martel|Charles Martel]] had become king in all but name and further strengthened his authority. Charles Martel's son [[Pepin_the_Short|Pepin the Short]] gained the backing of the pope and became king in name as well in [[751|751]]. Hence, when the Lombards started attacking the [[Papal_States|mini state]] that Pope had eased out of the Byzantine orbit, he was able to count on Pepin's aid.

In [[750|750]] the Khalifate the [[Abbasid|Abbasid]]s ousted the [[Umayyads|Umayyads]] who had ruled since the assassination of [[Ali|Ali]]. One of the few Umayyads to survive the resulting bloodletting established an [[Caliph_of_C%C3%B3rdoba|independent Emirate]] in [[Al-Andalus|Hispania]]. Across the water in [[Morocco|Morocco]], the [[Idrisids|Idrisids]], who claimed descent from Ali, proclaimed a rival Khalifate.

Pepin was succeeded by his son [[Charlemagne|Charlemagne]] in [[771|771]] and earned his epitat 'Great' by doing a lot of conquering. He overran the [[Saxons|saxons]], eliminated the Avars (in alliance with the turkic [[Bulgars|Bulgars]]) and took Barcelona from the Umayyads. The Lombards who couldn't resist bothering the Pope again got incorporated into the Frankish realm as well. In [[800|800]] he was proclaimed emperor by the Pope. The Frankish tendency to disunity, however, reasserted itself on the death of Charlemagne's son, [[Louis_the_Pious|Louis the Pious]] when Louis' three sons all got a share in [[840|840]].

[[Nikephoros_I_Phokas|Nikephoros I Phokas]] began the recovery for Byzantium of the Balkans by subduing inland Greece. Though he was to get himself killed in [[811|811]] trying to subdue the Bulgars, this marked the beginning of a trend that would lead to Byzantium securing in the Balkans territory to match their Anatolian heartland on the other side of the Aegean.

In [[793|793]] a band of [[Viking|Viking]]s raided [[Lindisfarne|Lindisfarne]] but the [[Viking_Age|era of Viking raids]] really only got going in the middle of the 9th Century. Not only was most of the Atlantic seaboard affected but they also raided along the river system from the [[Baltic|Baltic]] to the [[Black_Sea|Black Sea]], founding in the process the [[Rulers_of_Kievan_Rus%26apos%3B|Russian Kingdom]] in [[862|862]] or [[Rurik|so the legends tell]]. By contrast the rather small grant of land ([[Normandy|Normandy]]) by the French King in [[911|911]] to a group of Vikings was to have a long term impact. The [[Normans|Normans]] soon began to speak French and became a force in their own right.

The seemingly unstoppable decline of the [[Abbasid|Abbasid]] Khalifate was checked for while when, in [[905|905]], [[Al-Muktafi|Al-Muktafi]] overthrew the [[Tulunid|Tulunid]]s and retook Egypt. To the East Persia had fallen into the hands of the [[Saffarid_dynasty|Saffarid]] but in [[900|900]] they had been defeated by the [[Samanid|Samanid]]s who, at least outwardly, recognized the authority of the Khalif. Further to the East, in the [[Magreb|magreb]] a new rival Khalifate was established, the [[Fatimid|Fatimid]]. Two Fatimid attacks on Egypt were beaten off in [[914|914]] and [[919|919]] by the Abbasids.

As the Viking raids subsided the [[Magyars|Magyars]] arrived. Crossing the [[Carpathian_Mountains|Caparthian]]s they, in [[896|896]], occupied the Upper Tisza river, from which they conducted raids thru much of Western Europe. However, in [[955|955]] they were defeated by [[Otto_I%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor|Otto of Germany]] at the [[Battle_of_Lechfeld|Battle of Lechfeld]]. The defeat was so crushing that the Magyars decided that 'if you can't beat them join them' and in [[1000|1000]] their King was accepting his royal regalia from the Pope. Otto on the strength of that victory was able to secure the tittle of Emperor. This German based [[Holy_Roman_Empire|Holy Roman Empire]] was to be the major power in Christian Europe for some time to come.
As well as this "rebirth" of Western Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire continued to be the up. Eastwards their rule was pushed as far as Antioch (taken in 969), while their conquest of the West Bulgarian Empire in 1018 meant they now controlled most of the Balkans. Part of the reason for this Byzantine success was their main rival, the Abbasid Khalifate completely collapsed. The Fatamids overran Egypt and Syria while the [[Buyids|Buyids]] overran Iran and Mesopotamia. The Abbasid Khalifate lived on as merley spiritual authority to which the Buyaids were happy to defer to so long as it stayed spiritual. A third Khalifate appeared or rather was reborn in the West when the Umayyad Emirate that had expanded into Morocco proclaimed themselves as Khalifate in [[929|929]]. But this was their highpoint. In little more than a 100 years the Khalifate had disintegrated and finally expired in [[1031|1031]].

==High Medieval==

For some time [[Normans|Normans]] had been employed in the Byzantine-Lombard conflict in Southern Italy. With the capture of Melfi in [[1040|1040]] by [[Robert_Guiscard|Robert Guiscard]] it was clear that the Normans were out of control and soon not only Southern Italy had been conquered by the Normans but also, the [[Emirate_of_Sicily|Emirate of Sicily]]. The stay at home Normans, not to be outdone, [[Norman_conquest_of_England|conquered England]].

Having overthrown the Afghanistan based [[Ghaznavid_Empire|Ghaznavid Empire]] at the [[Battle_of_Dandanaqan|Battle of Dandanaqan]] in [[1040|1040]], the [[Seljuks|Seljuks]] took Bagdad in [[1055|1055]]. In [[1071|1071]] the Seljuks confronted the Byzantines at the [[Battle_of_Manzikert|Battle of Manzikert]]. The Byzantines lost the battle and as a result the whole Anatolian half of their realm. The Byzantines finally were desperate enough to seek help from the Pope and if the [[First_Crusade|First Crusade]] was not quite the help the Byzantines had in mind in did allow them to make a partial recovery. The crusade also allowed the Fatamids to recover Jerusalem only for them to [[Siege_of_Jerusalem_%281099%29|lose it to the Crusaders]] shortly afterwards.

In [[1055|1055]] a group of Berbers, the [[Almoravids|Almoravids]] recent converts to Islam, appeared out of the Sahara and captured the oasis of Sijilmasa. In [[1062|1062]] they founded the city of Marrakech from which comes the name of the region Morocco which the Almoravids soon had overrun. In Hispania the fragmented Muslim rulers began to lose ground to the Christian princes to the North. The Muslim princes appealed to the Almoravids in [[1086|1086]] and the Almoravids both stemmed the Christian advance and ended the fragmentation of the Muslim region of Spain by bringing it under their control. The magreb and Spain had till then been the home of opponents of the Abbasids (Fatamid, Umayyad) but the Almoravids broke this tradition by firmly recognizing the authority of the Abbasid Khalif.

The two major north Europe powers, Germany and France were both hamstrung by internal problems. The German emperors became locked in a duel with the pope over [[Investiture_Controversy|who should appoint prelates]] in Germany with the main Papal tactic being the backing of rival Emporers. In [[France_in_the_Middle_Ages|France]], the Capetian kings had been reduce to a level of little more than barons. When they began to make a comeback they were faced with the Occitan dynasty the [[Plantagenet|Plantagenet]]s who having acquired the Kingdom of England had more resources than they. However the succession dispute between [[John_Lackland|John Lackland]] and [[Arthur_I%2C_Duke_of_Brittany|Arthur]] allowed the French King to gain control of much of the Plantagenet region and the [[Albigensian_Crusade|Albigensian Crusade]] gave them control of Langudoc in [[1228|1228]].

The [[Crusader_States|Crusader States]] lasted so long as they did because Islam was so divided - first of all between Fatamid Egypt and the Seljuks and secondly due to the internal fragmentation of the Seljuks. The crusader luck ran out with the growing power of the [[Atabeg|atabeg]] of [[Mosul|Mosul]] (atabeg was a regent for Seljuk prince). In [[1154|1154]] the current Mosul ruler [[Nureddin|Nureddin]] took [[Damascus|Damascus]]. Next target was Fatamid Egypt which despite aid from the crusaders fell in [[1169|1169]]. It was, however, [[Saladin|Saladin]] the next sultan who rounded things off with conquest of Jerusalem in the wake of the [[Battle_of_Hattin|Battle of Hattin]]. The fall of Jerusalem provoked the [[Third_Crusade|Third Crusade]] which achieved little in Palestine but took [[Richard_Coeur_de_Lion|Richard Coeur de Lion]] out of circulation some time so allowing the French king to gain significant ground in his duel with the Plantagenents. The [[Fourth_Crusade|Fourth Crusade]] achieved a good deal more - by carving the [[Latin_Empire|Latin Empire]] out of the [[Byzantine_Empire|Byzantine Empire]]. It didn't last. Despite the fact that the Byzantine Emperor retook Constantinople in [[1261|1261]] the damage to the Byzantines was more permanent - the crusades true "achievement".

The decline of the Seljuks proceeded sufficiently that the Abbasid Khalifate managed to establish secular rule in Mesopotamia. The defeat of the Fatamid Caliph would have made the Abbasids sole Khalifs were it not that [[Almohads|Almohads]] had replaced the Almoravids in the west and had proclaimed themselves as a Khalifate. The change in rulers might have had an effect on the lives of Berber women (amongst the Berbers the Koran had not been interpreted as insisting on the veil - the Almohads disagreed) but had little effect in Spain where the Christian kingdoms continued to advance towards the South. They were however notable patrons of philosophers and of [[Averroes|Averroes]] in particular who is said to have sown the seeds of the [[Renaissance|Renaissance]].

In [[1220|1220]] the [[Mongol_Empire|Mongols]] crashed into Persia, at time ruled by [[Khwarezmid_Empire|Khwarezmids]]. In [[1223|1223]] it was the turn of the [[Kievan_Rus%26apos%3B|Kievan Rus']] who were defeated at the [[Battle_of_the_Kalka_River|Battle of the Kalka River]]. The [[Mongol_invasion_of_Rus|systematic conquest of Russia]] was to follow in [[1237|1237]]. In [[1258|1258]] [[Battle_of_Baghdad_%281258%29|Baghdad was attacked]] and the Abbasid Khalif executed by being trampled under the hoofs of the mongol horses. What finally halted Mongol expansion was its internal problems and on the death of [[Kublai_Khan|Kublai Khan]] in [[1294|1294]] the empire fragmented. Two of the fragments, the [[Golden_Horde|Golden Horde]] in Russia and the [[Ilkhanate|Ilkhanate]] in Persia were themselves major West Eurasian powers. The [[Ilkhanate|Ilkhanate]] adopted Islam in [[1295|1295]].

==Renaissance==

==Industrial Revolution==

==Modern times==

==Notes==

<references />

==See also==

[[History_of_Eurasia|History of Eurasia]]
[[History_of_Europe|History of Europe]]
[[History_of_the_Middle_East|History of the Middle East]]
[[History_of_the_Mediterranean_region|History of the Mediterranean region]]
[[History_of_North_Africa|History of North Africa]]
[[Classical_antiquity|Classical antiquity]]

[[Category:Wikipedia]]

Criticism of Jimmy Wales

2011-02-10T14:17:23Z

Zimm2: /* Additional reading */

[[Image:Jimbo_sleepy.jpg|right|thumb|214px|The man, the legend, Jimmy Wales]][[Wikipedia]] co-founder '''Jimmy "Jimbo" Wales has often been criticized''' for his sometimes authoritarian, sometimes unaccountable, and sometimes inept style in his direction of the online encyclopedia community and for his mismanagement of the [[Directory:Wikimedia Foundation|Wikimedia Foundation]] that is responsible for running it.

As a [[Directory:The New York Times|New York Times]] writer commented in a column once:
:''"As long as he is involved with Wikipedia, however, Mr. Wales will continue to be a guiding light for its many contributors — as well as a lightning rod for its critics."'' <ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/technology/17wikipedia.html?_r=1&bl&ex=1205899200&en=e0949ec94f152e85&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin "Open-Source Troubles in Wiki World"], Noam Cohen, March 17, 2008.</ref>

As a [http://toolserver.org/~soxred93/pcount/index.php?name=Everyking&lang=en&wiki=wikipedia Wikipedia administrator] with over 125,000 edits on the project has said:
:''It is a sad, sad statement on the Wikipedia community that it has never gotten rid of Jimbo Wales. It's remarkable to me that now, in 2010, Jimbo is still around, while the project itself is stagnating quite badly. I thought at one time that such a vibrant project with so much potential would surely jettison Jimbo -- who is so obviously a useless and unprincipled opportunist -- in relatively short order, once it matured to a certain point. Instead I'm starting to wonder if the project will sink and Jimbo will still be sitting there when it does.'' <ref>[http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=30616&view=findpost&p=250652 User:Everyking], August 31, 2010.</ref>

==Not a pornographer?==
[[Image:Captain_Jimbo.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Seems an odd way to market a "web portal"]]Jimbo Wales made repeated edits to his own biography on Wikipedia. One particularly hard bone of contention was [[Directory:Bomis|Bomis]], Jimbo's thriving Internet venture prior to Wikipedia. Bomis, a search portal, also included a healthy dose of "adult content", which Jimbo previously downplayed as ''glamour photography'' -- though as [[Directory:The New Yorker|The New Yorker]] notes, "glamour photography" is ''"not the most precise way to describe lesbian strip-poker threesomes."'' Nonetheless, Jimbo has been steadfast in his efforts to [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jimmy_Wales&diff=26702273&oldid=26658959 remove any suggestion that the beacon of free culture was at one time an unapologetic pornography peddler].

=="Sole Founder" controversy with Larry Sanger==
While the Wikipedia project consistently released statements to the press in its earliest years describing Larry Sanger as the "co-founder" of the encyclopedia, Jimmy Wales later took it upon himself to reframe the description of Sanger as an "employee" of Wales'. Wales has stated that he appreciates Sanger's contributions, but he seems unwilling to accept Sanger as a pioneer of Wikipedia's construction.

Dr. Sanger has [http://www.larrysanger.org/roleinwp.html taken the time] to elaborate on the factual evidence that supports his identification as "co-founder" of Wikipedia. Jimmy Wales has done very little such work to compile evidence that he is the "sole founder".<ref>[http://www.larrysanger.org/roleinwp.html My role in Wikipedia (links)], Dr. Larry Sanger, 2007, ''LarrySanger.org''.</ref>

More recently, Sanger has called out Wales via an "open letter",<ref>[http://blog.citizendium.org/2009/04/08/an-open-letter-to-jimmy-wales-copy/ An open letter to Jimmy Wales], Dr. Larry Sanger, 2009, ''Citizendium.org''.</ref> where the displeased creator of the Wikipedia name and architecture accuses Wales of "lies and distortions", being "transparently self-serving", and issuing "particularly outrageous" claims.

Clearly, the facts remain:

*Larry Sanger came to Wales in January 2001, asking him to install wiki software to feed the Nupedia encyclopedia project.
*Sanger named this new feeder project "Wikipedia".
*Sanger issued the first invitation for the public to come help build Wikipedia.
*Sanger, not Wales, crafted most of the key guidelines and policies that still govern Wikipedia today.

==Flip-flopping on paid editing of Wikipedia==
In August 2006, Wales [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2006-August/051897.html crafted a compromise] with a paid-editing firm to create and serve GFDL content on their own website about paying entities not currently featured in Wikipedia. Other unpaid, independent editors could determine whether the material was worth scraping into Wikipedia.

However, just a couple of months later in October 2006, Wales would renege on this agreement and, in fact, chastised anyone in the public relations industry as "[http://blog.bitepr.com/2006/08/jimmy_wales_on_.html deeply unethical]" if they attempt to create or influence GFDL content of an encyclopedic nature. Of course, the GFDL specifically bars licensees from restricting content to either commercial or non-commercial parties, so Wales really had no clue here.

==Essjay scandal==
[[Image:Jimmy Wales shilling wristwatches.jpg|left|thumb|170px|Want to buy a watch?]]In January 2007, Wales hired Ryan Jordan (pseudonymously known as "Essjay" on Wikipedia) to work at Wikia, Inc. At that time, it is [http://blog.citizendium.org/2007/03/05/one-last-brief-comment-on-the-essjay-scandal/ known that Wikia's co-founders knew] that Jordan was not academically credentialed as a Theology professor holding a PhD, as described on his Wikipedia user page. In fact, he was a 24-year-old college dropout. Regardless of this fraud, later in February, Wales appointed Essjay to Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee, the highest authority on Wikipedia short of the Wikimedia Foundation's own board of directors and staff. When the ''[http://www.WikipediaReview.com Wikipedia Review]'' engaged the ''New Yorker'' magazine to expose Essjay's fraud, Wales' first reaction [http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=%22I+don%27t+really+have+a+problem+with+it%22+Essjay&btnG=Search&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8 was to say] he "didn't really have a problem with it".

 
{{GKAdBrite}}
 
Well after [[Wikipedia_scandals#Essjay_is_not_a_professor|the scandal]] evolved into a serious public relations threat to Wikipedia's credibility, Wales sought to deflect responsibility for the whole affair by blaming the Arbitration Committee that he himself had created: "EssJay was appointed at the request of and unanimous support of the ArbCom." - Jimmy Wales [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2007-October/083549.html 17 October 2007]. Perplexed members of the Arbitration Committee responded by saying it would be more accurate to describe their "unanimous support" as "nobody objected to Jimbo's nomination of Essjay".

==Spyware? What spyware?==
[[Image:Jimmy_Wales_bright_eyed.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Me? Support spyware?]]Jimbo must have some fond connection with a piece of hated software called BonziBUDDY, because Jimbo has no problem stepping in personally on this Wikipedia subject. Those Internet veterans among you may remember BonziBUDDY, that obnoxious purple gorilla whose friendly and helpful appearance just happened to hide a program designed to infest your computer with truckloads of adware and malware. The mainstream media was virtually unanimous in scorning BonziBUDDY on various "most hated" lists. Jimbo, however, had a curiously different opinion; in fact, he couldn't keep this opinion to himself, so he [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BonziBUDDY&diff=168350569&oldid=168303939 personally edited Wikipedia's BonziBUDDY article] to systematically erase mention of "spyware" from the article. In fact, Jimbo also violated the Wikipedia rule against "original research" by becoming an expert paralegal for a moment: ''"In the following legal settlement, the issue was not the issue of "spyware", a term which does not appear in any of the legal documents."''

==Rachel Marsden affair==
His alleged attempts to "clean up" a Wikipedia entry for a woman with whom he had a relationship has also [http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=%22Rachel+Marsden%22+Wales&btnG=Search&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8 generated headlines]. Wales was accused of intervening to sanitize the Wikipedia article of a news commentator with whom he was having a romantic online relationship, which was about to culminate in a sexual romp in a [[Directory:Hilton_Hotels/Doubletree/Washington_DC|Doubletree Hotel in the nation's capital]].

The Wikipedia article regarding controversial [[Directory:Canada|Canadian]] radio commentator [[Directory:Rachel Marsden|Rachel Marsden]] had been the subject of controversy on Wikipedia for some years. According to Marsden, she had asked [[Directory:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]] to delete her [[biography]]. Her concerns led her to contact Wikipedia co-founder [[Directory:Jimmy Wales|Jimmy Wales]], claiming that it was incorrect and libelous. Wales reviewed her biography and, deeming that it was not up to standard, helped to clean up the entry by quietly requesting that a closely allied administrator [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rachel_Marsden&diff=189784135&oldid=185926385 do the work], literally hours before Wales would meet Marsden in person at the hotel.

Wales announced in a statement on Wikipedia "My involvement in cases like this is completely routine, and I am proud of it."<ref name=smh/> On [[February 29]], [[2008]], the technology gossip blog [[Valleywag]] claimed that they had entered into a relationship, and published instant messaging chats that they had allegedly exchanged. On the following day Wales announced on his Wikipedia user page that he was no longer involved with Marsden. In return, Marsden, who claimed to have learned about the breakup by reading about it on the Internet, turned to [[eBay]] and put up for auction a [[t-shirt]] and sweater that she claimed to be Wales'.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/03/02/marsden-breakup.html
| title = Canadian pundit, Wikipedia founder in messy breakup
| author = Siri Agrell
| publisher = [[The Canadian Press]]
| date = [[2008-03-02]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-06
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080304.wlbreakup04/BNStory/lifeMain/home
| title = Ms. Marsden's cyberspace breakup: tit-for-tat-for-T-shirt
| author = Siri Agrell
| publisher = [[The Globe and Mail]]
| date = [[2008-03-04]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-05
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334652,00.html
| title = Wikipedia Founder's Fling With Columnist Ends in Nasty Public Breakup
| publisher = [[Fox News Channel|FOXNews.com]]
| date = [[2008-03-03]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-05
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url = http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3475722.ece
| title = Fury of a woman scorned – on Wikipedia
| publisher = [[The Times]]
| date = [[2008-03-04]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-05
}}</ref><ref name=smh>{{cite news
| url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/ex-takes-her-revenge-on-mr-wiki/2008/03/04/1204402405901.html
| title = Ex takes her revenge on Mr Wikipedia
| publisher = [[The Sydney Morning Herald]]
| author = Asher Moses
| date = [[2008-03-04]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-05
}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2008-03-04-wikipedia-wales_N.htm?csp=34
| title = Wikipedia's Wales defends breakup, expenses
| publisher = [[USA Today]]
| date = [[2008-03-05]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-05
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url = http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004286879_btwikipedia17.html
| title = Wikipedia experiences growing pains
| author = Alana Semuels
| publisher = Seattle Times
| date = [[2008-03-17]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-17
}}</ref>

There is curiously only a brief mention of this episode in the anonymous-edit-protected Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales article about Jimmy Wales], even though it was the [http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=%22Rachel+Marsden%22+Wales&btnG=Search&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8 talk of mainstream media] for the better part of March 2008. Compare, there is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Gibson_DUI_incident an entire article] about Mel Gibson's DUI incident; an article which any anonymous IP address can edit and malign. Not so, Jimmy Wales' article. He merits special protective editorial favors, it would appear.

==Misspending Foundation funds==
[[Image:Jimbo_in_Vogue.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Jimbo playing dress-up]]In March 2008, Wales was accused by former Wikimedia Foundation employee Danny Wool of subsidizing personal expenditures with foundation funds. These included rebuffed attempts to have reimbursed a $1200 dinner for four, a $650 wine tab, and even a visit to a Moscow massage parlor that Wales submitted ''twice'' for payback from the Foundation. Wool also stated that Wales had his Wikimedia credit card taken away in part because of his spending habits, though Wales denied this claim.<ref>[http://smh.com.au/news/biztech/wikipedia-head-accused-of-expenses-rort/2008/03/05/1204402516874.html Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales accused of expenses rort], Asher Moses, March 5, 2008, ''[[Sydney Morning Herald]]''</ref> Foundation Chair Florence Devouard and former foundation interim Executive Director Brad Patrick denied any wrongdoing by Wales or the foundation, saying that Wales accounted for every expense and that for items he did not have receipts for, he paid out of his own pocket.<ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/05/BUVFVDM3H.DTL San Francisco Chronicle]</ref> Executive Director Sue Gardner would later defend Wales on CNET video, saying, "Jimmy has never done anything wrong."<ref>[http://news.cnet.com/1606-2-6233396.html CNET video of an extremely uncomfortable Sue Gardner]</ref>

If these facts are not enough to convince you that money makes its way through the back door to Wales' wallet, then perhaps a look [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2009-January/049340.html at the front door] is in order. The Wikimedia Foundation announced in January 2009 that it was to begin paying rent to Jimmy Wales' company, Wikia, Inc., on a monthly basis. They would use the tax-advantaged funds granted by the Ruth and Frank Stanton Fund. Did Wikia offer the lowest-priced rent solution to the Wikimedia Foundation? Not at all! After a [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2009-January/049345.html frantic] back-and-forth [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2009-January/049354.html attempt] by different [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2009-January/049360.html agents] of the Wikimedia Foundation to [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2009-January/049411.html explain] how this [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2009-January/049389.html level] of [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2009-January/049391.html self-dealing] was [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2009-January/049393.html allowed to happen], Wikia's CEO Gil Penchina finally revealed (a year later, January 4, 2010) in a personal e-mail:

<blockquote>''They <nowiki>[the Wikimedia Foundation]</nowiki> approached us and asked if they could rent space on a temporary basis.. and I think it ended up being 4-6 months give or take. I thought about giving it to them for free and I wasn't sure which was worse... getting accused of bribing a non-profit for giving it away, or getting accused of stealing for a non-profit for charging... so we ended up asking them to get competitng (sic) quotes from other landlords so that THEY could feel comfortable with the decision.''</blockquote>

First there is a request to rent space from a hand-picked bidder, and only ''then'' a suggestion to get competing bids from other landlords? It sounds like someone at the Wikimedia Foundation wanted to make sure that Jimmy Wales' for-profit company had the inside track on that bid, worth many thousands of dollars.

==Jeffrey Merkey favors-for-payment allegations==
[[Image:Jimmy Wales on Washington Post interview.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Napping on the job.]]Later in March 2008, it was alleged by [[Jeff V. Merkey|Jeffrey Vernon Merkey]] that Wales had edited Merkey's entry in Wikipedia to make it more "favourable" in return for donations to the Wikimedia Foundation. In May 2006 Wales had erased Merkey's article "because of the unpleasantness of it" and stated "we are nearing a resolution of this longstanding conflict," referring to a dispute between the Wikipedia community and Merkey over the content of the biography. Wales called the allegation that the Wikimedia Foundation had received donations in exchange for this "nonsense."<ref>[http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/cashforkindness-scandal-rattles-wikipedia/2008/03/11/1205125911471.html Cash for kindness]</ref> <ref name="bbcpaidediting">{{citeweb|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7291382.stm|title=Wiki boss 'edited for donation'|accessdate=2008-03-12}}</ref> Nonetheless, Merkey made a very clear and very deliberate statement to the Associated Press that attested: <blockquote>''Wales agreed that in exchange for a substantial donation and other financial support of the Wikimedia Foundation projects, Wales would use his influence to make Merkey's article adhere to Wikipedia's stated policies with regard to internet libel "as a courtesty" and place Merkey under his "special protection" as an editor.''<ref>[http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2008-March/039545.html [Foundation-l] Statement to the Associated Press], Jeffrey Merkey, March 9, 2008.</ref></blockquote>

==Tolerance of plagiarism==
The original version of any wiki-formatted article about the Arch Coal company was authored in September 2006 by [[Directory:Gregory J. Kohs|Gregory Kohs]] and released under the terms of the GFDL on this website, [[Directory:MyWikiBiz|MyWikiBiz.com]]. It was then scraped by an independent editor into Wikipedia. In October 2006, erroneously thinking that the article was paid for by Arch Coal, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales acted to delete the article from Wikipedia, but the Wikipedia community determined that Wales' action had been unjustified. The article was revised, largely by "User:JzG" (Guy Chapman), who would [http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?showtopic=15321 later claim] that he wrote his version of the article ''ab initio'', "from the ground up". However, in January 2008, Kohs demonstrated to Chapman that the article as modified by User:JzG actually plagiarized many aspects of the original. Faced with that evidence, Chapman elected to cover up his misdeed by [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&page=Arch_Coal deleting the original edits] on the Wikipedia site, thus making the provenance of the article appear to have come from Chapman, and not from MyWikiBiz. When Jimmy Wales was notified about this violation of professional ethics and proper GFDL attribution of the edit history, Wales '''very reluctantly''' restored the original edit history, with the childish edit summary, "''might as well restore all of it I suppose''".

===Additional comment===
When in December 2008, Kohs [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arch_Coal&diff=255480884&oldid=255154863 sought to improve] the article about Arch Coal on Wikipedia, his improvements were [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arch_Coal&diff=next&oldid=255480884 reverted back] by a mindless administrator from Belgium. This underscores the true system of editorial control on Wikipedia -- it matters not the '''content''' of one's edits, but rather '''who''' authors the content. (Which, of course, directly contradicts Wikipedia's supposed credo that "anyone can edit".)

===Jimbo (finally) sees the light===
After about 26 months, Wales did ultimately [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3AArch_Coal&diff=258731121&oldid=224255965 apologize in a round-about way] for his mistakes in handling this situation. Bravo! <nowiki><golf clap></nowiki>

==Jimbo plagiarizes photography==
When delivering an important presentation in Spain in 2010, Jimmy Wales [http://www.mywikibiz.com/File:Jimbo_stealing_CC_content.jpg featured an image] that he (or his speech writer) had altered, mislabeled into the wrong decade, then presented as a "Wikia" product. He did not properly attribute the image to the original photographer, thus violating the CC-by-SA 2.0 Generic license by which the photo was released.

 
<div style="overflow:auto;height:1px;">
[[Keyword:=Jimmy Wales]]
[[Keyword:=Jimbo Wales]]
[[Keyword:=Jimmy Donal Wales]]
[[Keyword:=criticism]]
[[Keyword:=fraud]]
[[Keyword:=controversy]]
[[Keyword:=scandal]]
[[Keyword:=critique]]
</div>
{{GKAnt}}

==Openserving==
In December 2006, Jimmy Wales launched a spin-off from Wikia called [http://openserving.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Openserving]. Wales was attempting to copy another business model that had been floated by [[Centiare|Centiare.com]] (which is currently regenerated at [[Directory:MyWikiBiz|MyWikiBiz]]), and by Helium.com, where the unpaid labor who create new content would have the opportunity to earn advertising revenue as a reward for their authorship. Although Wales claimed that "thousands" of interested queries were made of Openserving, the project never got a single new forum off the ground. It was a failure.

Wikia.com is perhaps Wales' most successful project financially, although it has been speculated that it won't be able to turn a regular profit, as meager ad revenues can't possibly support the staffing needs.

==Spanking Art Wikia==
[[Image:Spanking Art Wikia ad for March of Dimes.jpg|left|thumb|230px|Centextual ads supported spanking]]Jimmy Wales' privately-held Wikia company as recently as January 2008 hosted online a web menagerie of freely-licensed images of innocent children juxtaposed with depraved images of children being mercilessly spanked until purple, along with photos of various sexual-enhancement toys. A critic of the site led an urgent campaign that challenged this '''[http://web.archive.org/web/20071214201347rn_1/spankingart.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Spanking Art Wikia]''' wiki. Wales became quite ruffled under the collar, irritated that the agitator had not "made a complaint through the proper channels". Imagine, sexually-charged images of deviant abuse against children, and the man hosting it on his company's servers was more upset that the complaints against his site weren't filed properly.

==Wikia Search==
Jimbo's venture into the search engine market was much-ballyhooed by the tech media, but after only an 18-month effort, Wales pulled the plug on the failure that was Wikia Search. Evidence was clear early on that it would [http://andrewkeen.typepad.com/the_great_seduction/2008/10/the.html not be a success]. But even as late as March 2009, Wales [http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/22475.asp deceived reporter Susan Kuchinskas] with the assurance, "''I have my team focused on the front end, working on the user experience, and making sure we have all the wiki-like tools people need to work on the site. We're just cranking away.''" Merely days later, Wales would face reality, fire the people he'd employed to try to make this pig fly, and shut down the site.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Additional reading==
*[[Top 10 Reasons Not to Donate to Wikipedia]]
*[[The Six Rotten Pillars of Wikipedia‎]]
*[http://moriyosi.livejournal.com/28156.html Moriyosi on LiveJournal] - The Problem With Wikipedia, Part 1
*[http://www.wikitruth.info/index.php?title=Jimbo_Wales Wikitruth] - Jimbo Wales

[[Category:Wikipedia]]

Multiple account abuse (Wikipedia)

2011-02-10T14:15:57Z

Zimm2:

A '''sock puppet''' in Wikipedia is an alternative account ''used deceptively''. Wikipedia does not check the identity of a user when they open an account, and thus it is possible for the same user to edit the encyclopedia from two different accounts without the knowledge of other users. Wikipedia does not forbid multiple accounts as such, although it discourages the use of multiple accounts to create the illusion of greater support for an issue, and expressly forbids the use of to avoid scrutiny, to mislead others by making disruptive edits with one account and normal ones with another, or otherwise stir up controversy. "Misuse of an alternative account may result in being blocked from editing". It also discourages voters from voting more than once via multiple accounts, (but qualifies this with the comment that "typically it is the weight of arguments that wins the day").

The result is a system that is difficult to manage, and there is considerable evidence of abuse of multiple accounts in Wikipedia elections, both by ordinary users and by Wikipedia 'administrators'.

== Checkuser ==

== Evidence of abuse ==

[[Directory:Gregory J. Kohs|Gregory Kohs]] has an ample trove of sockpuppet incursions into Wikipedia, but only a few instances found ''multiple'' socks trying to influence policy- or article-based outcomes. Generally, these socks were blocked within days of their use. Would these examples help the purpose of this article? (Erase this, if not.) -- [[User:MyWikiBiz|MyWikiBiz]] 04:53, 15 October 2008 (PDT)

: Possible confusion: I am using the term 'multiple account' as an ordinary language version of what Wiki-people call 'sockpuppet'. Thus, if you have ample evidence of sockpuppet incursions that have a negative effect on the project, please let me know.

::Sorry, I can't think of any that had a negative effect on the project, at least in terms of proving or demonstrating important points. -- [[User:MyWikiBiz|MyWikiBiz]] 12:38, 16 October 2008 (PDT)

:::What I learned ([http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?showtopic=17713&st=40&p=136286&#entry136286 from John Vandenberg]) is that the use of sockpuppet accounts to evade an unjust block enables others to stigmatize the sockpuppeter has having "dirty hands". The moral of the story, I suppose, is to always use freshly laundered socks. —[[User:Moulton|Moulton]] 14:30, 16 October 2008 (PDT)

== References ==

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sock_puppet Multiple account policy on Wikipedia]

[[Category:Wikipedia]]

Talk:Nationalistic Editing on Wikipedia

2011-02-10T14:13:14Z

Zimm2: /* References */

== House of De Bona-Additional==
House of De Bona (the proper name) '''''vs''''' the ''slavic'', House of Bunic on [[Wikipedia]]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:House_of_Bunić Link ''for'' Talk:House of Bunic]
===Ref for De Bona:===
* Age, Marriage, and Politics in Fifteenth Century Ragusa ''by'' David Rheubottom <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=_3dGQI2MdKQC&pg=PA77&dq=(de)+Bona+house+ragusa&client=safari&cd=1#v=onepage&q=(de)%20Bona%20house%20ragusa&f=false Age, Marriage, and Politics in Fifteenth Century Ragusa] by David Rheubottom</ref>
Book overview: This book combines the insights of history and anthropology with innovative techniques such as computer simulation to investigate the relationships between politics, kinship, and marriage in the late-medieval city-state of Ragusa (present-day Dubrovnik). At its heart is a reconsideration of `office' and the ways in which ties of kinship and marriage were mobilised to build electoral success.

*Our Kingdom Come: The Counter-Reformation, the Republic of Dubrovnik by Zdenko Zlatar <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?client=safari&cd=9&id=RGRpAAAAMAAJ&dq=House+of+De+Bona+dubrovnik&q=House+of+De+Bona+#search_anchor Our Kingdom Come] The Counter-Reformation, the Republic of Dubrovnik by Zdenko Zlatar</ref>
* Dubrovnik’s Patrician Houses and Their Participation in Power (1440-1640) ''by'' Zdenko Zlatar/hrcak.srce.hr/ page 49 <ref>[http://74.125.155.132/scholar?q=cache:yfQheBR-5fUJ:scholar.google.com/+Dubrovnik’s+Patrician+Houses+and+Their+Participation+in+Power+bona&hl=en&as_sdt=2000 Dubrovnik’s Patrician Houses and Their Participation in Power (1440-1640)] by Zdenko Zlatar/hrcak.srce.hr/file/28928. page 49</ref>

'''Zdenko Zlatar''' is Reader in Slavic History at The University of Sydney. Address:
Department of History, The University of Sydney, Sydney, N.S.W. 2006, Australia
*Dubrovnik Under French Rule ''by'' Stjepan Cosic page 113 hrcak.srce.hr/file/12648. <ref>[http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache%3AF6sh1V_orWAJ%3Ahrcak.srce.hr%2Ffile%2F12648+House+of+De+Bona+dubrovnik&hl=en Dubrovnik Under French Rule (1810-1814) Dubrovnik Under French Rule] by Stjepan Cosic/ hrcak.srce.hr/file/12648. page 113 </ref>
* Dubrovnik‎ by Barisa Krekic <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?client=safari&cd=1&id=m85pAAAAMAAJ&dq=House+of+De+Bona+dubrovnik&q=+De+Bona+#search_anchor Dubrovnik‎ by Barisa Krekic]</ref>
* Journal of Croatian Studies: Volume 20 ''by'' Croatian Academy of America <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=VvCPAAAAIAAJ&q=House+of+De+Bona+dubrovnik&dq=House+of+De+Bona+dubrovnik&client=safari&cd=10 Journal of Croatian Studies] Volume 20 ''by'' Croatian Academy of America</ref>
* Quattrocento Adriatico: Fifteenth-Century Art of the Adriatic by Charles Dempsey <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?client=safari&cd=5&id=uKzpAAAAMAAJ&dq=House+of+De+Bona+dubrovnik&q=De+Bona+#search_anchor Quattrocento Adriatico]: Fifteenth-Century Art of the Adriatic by Charles Dempsey "The papers collected in this book provide many new observations about the artistic interrelationship between Italy and the cities of the Dalmatian coast during the fifteenth century, with special attention given to the influence on both sides of the Adriatic of the styles of Donatello in sculpture, Squarcione in painting, and Alberti in architecture. Essays are devoted to fifteenth-century painting in Dalmatia and its ties to the opposite shore; to the centrality of Padua in diffusing artistic ideas throughout the Adriatic; to Venetian sovereignty over Dalmatia; to Renaissance villas on the Dalmatian coast; to the architectural activity of Michelozzo and his shop in Dubrovnik.

(University of Ljubljana), Johannes Roll (The Humboldt University)."</ref>
*Helias and Blasius De Radoano: Ragusa Merchants in the Second Half of the 14th Century ''by'' Barisa Krekic.

" In February of 1378 Blasius and Sir '''Lucas de Bona''' had appointed two Venetians and a Ragusan" page 408 <ref>[http://www.doiserbia.nbs.bg.ac.yu/img/doi/0584-9888/2004/0584-98880441399K.pdf Helias and Blasius De Radoano:] Ragusa Merchants in the Second Half of the 14th Century by Barisa Krekic</ref>

''Note:'' Reference writing is based on unpublished and published documents from the State Archives in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
* From Dubrovnik (Ragusa) Florence: Observations on the Recruiting of Domestic Servants in the 15 Century by Paola Pinelli - hrcak.srce.hr/file/50677.page 63

"for slave trade companies continued to be founded, like the one established in 1445 between '''Marino di Bona''' of '''Ragusa''' and Benedetto Magrino for the trade of 12-15 male and female slaves." <ref>[http://74.125.155.132/scholar?q=cache:0I7qkN19v8QJ:scholar.google.com/+House+of+De+Bona+dubrovnik&hl=en&as_sdt=2000 From Dubrovnik (Ragusa) Florence] : Observations on the Recruiting of Domestic Servants in the 15 Century by Paola Pinelli/hrcak.srce.hr/file/50677 page 63</ref>
*The Factions within the Ragusan Patriciate (17-18 Century) S. Cosic and N. Vekaric.
Table 1. Factions in the Great Conspiracy of 1610/12 by senatorship. page 23 <ref>[http://74.125.155.132/scholar?q=cache:hpVqWGLzcCkJ:scholar.google.com/++Merchants+de+Bona+republic+of+ragusa+patrician+families&hl=en&as_sdt=2000 The Factions within the Ragusan Patriciate (17-18 Century)] by S. Cosic and N. Vekaric. Table 1. Factions in the Great Conspiracy of 1610/12 by senatorship. page 23 </ref>

''Note'': Stjepan Cosic, member of the Institute for Historical Sciences of the Croatian Academy of
Sciences and Arts in Dubrovnik. Address: Zavod za povijesne znanosti HAZU, Lapadska
obala 6, 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Nenad Vekarie, head of the Institute for Historical Sciences of the Croatian Academy of
Sciences and Arts in Dubrovnik. Address: Zavod za povijesne znanosti HAZU, Lapadska
obala 6, 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia.

(Dubrovnik Annals, No.6 Srpanj 2002.<ref>[http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?lang=hr&show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=28928 Dubrovnik Annals, No.6 Srpanj 2002.]</ref>)

''In Croatia'':
* National Security and the Future. Editorial Office, Rudera Boskoviceva 20, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia:

''" The Ragusan Archives document , "Speculum Maioris Consilii Rectores", showed 4397 rectors elected between September 1440 to June l806; 2764, (63 %) were from eleven "old patrician" families: Gozze, Bona, Caboga, Cerva, Ghetaldi, Giorgi, Gradi, Pozza, Saraca, Sorgo, and Zamanya. An 1802 list of Ragusa's governing bodies showed that 6 of the 8 Minor Council, and 15 of 20 Grand Council members were from the same 11 families."'' <ref>[http://www.nsf-journal.hr/issues/v1_n3-4/dedijer.htm National Security and the Future-Croatia]:Ragusa Intelligence & Security (RIS)
- A Model for the 21st Century! Stevan Dedijer Dubrovnik, Croatia </ref>

*De Bona Consulting: Director: Mercy Bona Pavelic [http://www.luxurycroatia.com/ProductDetails/156/pgid/23/lang/English/Luxury---Exclusive-Croatia---Top-Real-Estate-Agencies---de-Bona-Consulting--Dubrovnik--Zagreb.wshtml - DE BONA CONSULTING]
E-mail: bona@de-bona.com, gsm: + 385 91 6374883, Zrinsko Frankopanska 5, Dubrovnik, Croatia
fax: +385 20 311816 Pantovcak 8, Zagreb, Croatia, fax: +385 1 4821347 [http://www.de-bona.com/index.php DeBona.com] 

* HUMANIZAM -hrv. književnost 14. i 15. st. <ref>[http://mudrac.ffzg.hr/~ltatomir/skripte/skripte/humanizam.rtf Humanizam -hrv. književnost 14. i 15. st]</ref>
(Debona.michel: "Basically, we are dealing with a small group of mostly young, very aggressive, (extreme) nationalist/jingoist/chauvinist, passionate (24/7), degree-less students who have decided that Wikipedia is their domain/soap box and a no one should get in their way." - 8 January 2010)

== References ==
<references/>
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

Wikipedia scandals

2011-02-08T01:58:04Z

Zimm2: /* External links */

'''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].

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.

[[Image:Wikipedia_scandals.jpg|right|thumb|275px|Wikimedia Foundation donations are dropping substantially]]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 Essjay incident appeared to have an adverse impact on daily financial donations to the [[Directory:Wikimedia Foundation|Wikimedia Foundation]]. The downward slide closely mirrored a number of ethically questionable decisions by key administrators of [[Directory:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]].

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==
''Discussions took place on Wikipedia about the relationship between Wikia, Inc. and the leadership of the Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees. As you can see, these discussions were mostly rebuffed by hard-headed loyalists who couldn't imagine any wrongdoing.''

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)
:Good question. [[User:Durova|Durova]]''[[User talk:Durova|Charge!]]'' 20:35, 19 August 2007 (UTC)
::So what if it is? I certainly trust them to do a good job if they are, and I'm sure that the board (who is in charge of the person) knows about this considering the owners of Wikia are previous board members. (...and the Board isn't stupid). '''[[User:Cbrown1023|Cbrown1023]]''' '''[[User talk:Cbrown1023|talk]]''' 23:01, 19 August 2007 (UTC)
:::That's fine if you personally trust them, Cbrown1023, but you may want to look at the [http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1023.pdf IRS form 1023] (no joke -- it's the same form number as the number found in your User name -- coincidence or irony?), especially what's said about Line 5a: '''A "conflict of interest" arises when a person in a position of authority over an organization, such as a director, officer, or manager, may benefit personally from a decision he or she could make.''' Note also Appendix A, starting at Page 25, which outlines a sample Conflict of Interest policy that a non-profit organization might adopt. Do you think that, as Appendix A suggests, either Jimmy Wales or Michael E. Davis have ever left the room during a Wikimedia Foundation board meeting, so that the other board members could discuss whether a conflict of interest was present for those two, who just happen to be former business partners and are currently vested in Wikia, which benefits from many, many favorable associations within Wikipedia? Jimmy Wales tried to hire a Wikipedia Arbitration Committee member onto Wikia. Wikia has many thousands of outbound links from Wikipedia, which point to pages monetized by Google AdSense ads. I guess, Cbrown1023, the question is not whether the Board "knows about this", but rather, why are they allowing such a gross appearance of conflict of interest to continue unabated? --[[User:Dude Manchap|Dude Manchap]] 03:27, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
::::If you feel that the Wikimedia Foundation is doing something wrong, by all means file a complaint with them. Otherwise, please take this discussion elsewhere. This noticeboard isn't for solving legal problems. - [[User:Jehochman|Jehochman]] [[User_talk:Jehochman|Talk]] 03:43, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
:::::This is not currently a legal problem. Nobody said it was. It is a Conflict of Interest problem. Another administrator has called it a "Good question", so why should it be swept under the rug and be "Resolved" by a non-administrator? --[[User:Dude Manchap|Dude Manchap]] 14:23, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
Hi again Dude. A few clarifications: you posted to ask whether there's a conflict of interest but haven't supplied much information. Normally requests to this board cite specific activity and evidence. And normally there's an onsite edit history to reference. If this person actually has registered and edits in a way that reflects a conflict of interest, this noticeboard might be able to accomplish something. If the conflict of interest relationship doesn't extend to actual editing activity then I have no direct power and only a little influence. Yet as the founder of [[:Category:Eguor admins]] I'm particularly open to this type of request. Sure, why not investigate a Wikipedia/Wikia COI? Burden of evidence rests squarely on your shoulders. Go for it if it's particularly important to you. Just expect to shoulder most of the work yourself. I'll check it out, see if there's anything I can do about it, and possibly ask for broader input. That's as fair as I can be. [[User:Durova|Durova]]''[[User talk:Durova|Charge!]]'' 15:19, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
:Well, this is a wiki, so the burden of evidence isn't just on me -- it's on the other users who will hopefully see this thread and have enough "wikisleuthing" in their blood to check it out some more. I appreciate your support of it staying in the open, rather than being hastily "resolved", which really would have reflected poorly on the Foundation. For starters, people may wish to look at these discussions about the Wikia/Wikipedia conflict of interest:
::*[http://www.joeszilagyi.com/2007/04/30/wikipedia-unethical-conflict-of-interest Joe Szilagyi blog]
::*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikia#Financial_conflict_of_interest.3F Wikia article discussion in Wikipedia]
::*[http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/04/28/wikipedia-special-treatment-for-wikia-and-other-wikis/ TechCrunch article by Nik Cubrilovic, including many illuminating comments]
::*[http://www.state.il.us/court/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2006/1stDistrict/March/Html/1041110.htm Court case against Michael E. Davis, Treasurer of both Wikimedia Foundation and Wikia, Inc.] This one is important, as it shows that Davis has not paid $817,830 that he was judged to owe the plaintiff. We are simultaneously being asked to "trust" that Davis will do a good job with the books at both Wikimedia and Wikia, Inc..—The preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment was added by [[User:Dude Manchap|Dude Manchap]] ([[User talk:Dude Manchap|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Dude Manchap|contribs]]){{#if:16:00, August 20, 2007 (UTC)| 16:00, August 20, 2007 (UTC)}}. 
::*[http://www.ihatewikipedia.com/uploads/Wikimedia_IRS_Form_990_2006_YE_063006.pdf Wikimedia Form 990 (Line 80) indicates there is a financial "relationship" with Wikia, Inc.]—The preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment was added by [[User:Dude Manchap|Dude Manchap]] ([[User talk:Dude Manchap|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Dude Manchap|contribs]]){{#if:16:00, August 20, 2007 (UTC)| 16:00, August 20, 2007 (UTC)}}. 
::*[http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/htdig/wikien-l/2007-January/059882.html Angela Beesley moved rejected Wikipedia articles to co-opt them for Wikia's benefit] —The preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment was added by [[User:Dude Manchap|Dude Manchap]] ([[User talk:Dude Manchap|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Dude Manchap|contribs]]){{#if:17:07, August 20, 2007 (UTC)| 17:07, August 20, 2007 (UTC)}}. 
:Again, I look forward to whether anyone else will step up and investigate this further. --[[User:Dude Manchap|Dude Manchap]] 15:48, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
::(stepping over issues of whether this is the right page to talk about the subject)...indeed, board members and accountants both have [[fiduciary]] duties to act in the best interest of their organizations. By various laws and governance principles they have to recuse themselves or avoid involvement when there is a conflict. Even a perceived conflict can be corrosive to governance and is sometimes prohibited because people lose faith. Someone who is on the board of Wikimedia or does its finances and also has a financial stake in Wikia should be very careful about taking positions here on things that benefit Wikia by directing traffic there, banning things from Wikipedia so as to distinguish it from a commercial site, making Wikipedia less attractive to constituents than Wikia. Actions that seem to raise a conflict include banning commercial links, advertisements, fair use media, conflict-of-interest editors, etc., from Wikipedia so that people go to Wikia for that.[[User:Wikidemo|Wikidemo]] 16:05, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
(outdent) Looking over those five links, two of them are specifically legal issues outside my expertise. I have no qualification to evaluate them. Joe Szlilagyi's blog is hardly a reliable source and another on-wikipedia thread was started by someone who's expended his credibility also. The techcrunch.com article holds water, in my opinion. What exactly are you seeking? If the basic complaint regards financial relationships at that level, then the most I could do would be to ask the WMF board to review this matter, and possibly to ask someone to institute nofollow to outgoing links to Wikia. My sysop tools would be useless to address this. Or is more forthcoming? [[User:Durova|Durova]]''[[User talk:Durova|Charge!]]'' 17:06, 20 August 2007 (UTC)
:This is a wiki -- there's no telling if there is "more forthcoming" or not. Another example might be the Essjay situation. Essjay was nominated by Jimmy Wales to the Arbitration Committee -- the highest level of dispute resolution below the Board itself. Only a month earlier (I may be wrong about the timeline), Wales had also hired Essjay to work for Wikia, Inc. This took place this year, well after the issue of "Conflict of Interest" has been made so noticeable on Wikipedia, thanks in part (ironically) to Wales' discussions of editing by conflicted parties. Was it appropriate for Wales to nominate one of his Wikia employees to a position on the Arbitration Committee? I believe that question was obscured by the whole firestorm over Essjay's fabricated credentials. Yes, I think the Board of Directors should look at this entire matter; but do you realize that it should be while Wales and Davis and Beesley (and any other Wikia parties I may have missed) are not present in the room? The other factor that I think is important here is that this discussion remain open for some time. Already two non-admin users have attempted to hide it from plain view, with the reason being it belongs somewhere else. This seems very weak, being that this is a Conflict of Interest Noticeboard, and this is a conflict of interest issue. --[[User:Dude Manchap|Dude Manchap]] 17:15, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

:How does this question have anything to do with the purpose of this page? [[User:Corvus cornix|Corvus cornix]] 17:15, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

==Heidi Wyss editing as ''Gwen Gale''==
Heidi Wyss is a Swiss administrator of Wikipedia. Under the user name ''Gwen Gale'', she has handed out numerous account blocks ([http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&offset=20081201000000&limit=500&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&month=11&year=2008 more than 500] in October and November of 2008) to other users who supposedly violated Wikipedia's rules. However, she herself broke a cardinal rule of Wikipedia -- don't self-publish autobiographical puff pieces in the encyclopedia. The article she wrote looked something like this:

===Heidi Wyss (article for deletion)===
'''Heidi Wyss''' (born 1975, [[Geneva]]) is a [[Swiss]] author.

Wyss was educated in Geneva and in the [[United Kingdom]]. She has worked as an [[histology|histologist]] and technical writer. Her first [[novel]] ''[[Gormglaith (novel)|Gormglaith]]'', published in 2007, has been described as a "Radical lesbian separatist cult hit set in a plausible future with a witchy bent",<ref>The Secret Society of Lesbian Propellerheads, ''[http://www.ssolp.org/index.php SSOLP home page]'', accessed February 1, 2008</ref> "...like a female ''[[Finnegans Wake]]''..." along with "touches of [[JRR Tolkien|Tolkien]]" and reminiscent "...in some ways of the very intricate work of [[Patricia Kennealy-Morrison]]'s Keltiad novels."<ref>Swann, Morgaine, ''[http://www.womenwriters.net/winter05/Gormglaith1.htm Gormglaith by Heidi Wyss]'', womenwriters.net, accessed February 1, 2008</ref>

'''References'''
{{reflist}}

'''External links'''
*[http://skepchick.org/blog/?p=636 Wyss interviewed at Skepchick.org]

<nowiki>[[Category:Swiss feminists]]</nowiki>
<nowiki>[[Category:Swiss science fiction writers]]</nowiki>
<nowiki>[[Category:1975 births]]</nowiki>
<nowiki>[[Category:Living people]]</nowiki>

===Gormglaith (article for deletion)===

''As if the autobiography were not enough, administrator Gwen Gale went on to write a self-promotional advertisement on Wikipedia about her rather non-noteworthy novel, '''Gormglaith''':'' 

'''''Gormglaith''''' (2007) by [[Heidi Wyss]] is a hard science fiction novel set in a radical feminist separatist world of the future.

'''Plot introduction'''
The tale follows its protagonist Gormglaith as she copes with the outcome of her own rashness throughout five life-shifting days and nights.

'''Reception'''
Morgaine Swann in her review on womenwriters.net said "I'm sure there are Druids and Wiccans who'll devour it whole... LOTR fans who'll sleep out for tickets to the movie and Witchy young women enamored of fantasy books on all things Keltic... for my part, I had trouble getting into it. It isn't just a book -- it's a project. From the first page, it was incomprehensible and there was nothing there to draw me in, or make me care enough to dig in. A little seduction, or at least introduction, would go a long way. It felt like a female [[Finnegan's Wake]], with all that implies, good and bad. It had touches of [[J. R. R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] and reminded me in some ways of the very intricate work of [[Patricia Kennealy-Morrison|Patricia Kennealy-Morrison's]] [[The Keltiad|Keltiad]] novels. If that appeals to you, I recommend this book."<ref name="urlGormglaith">{{cite web |url=http://www.womenwriters.net/winter05/Gormglaith1.htm |title=Gormglaith |author= Morgaine Swann|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2004-12-01|format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/5bfJe9kFD|archivedate= 2008-10-18|quote= |accessdate=2008-10-18}}</ref> Karen Campbell in her review on Quiet Mountain Essays said "We meet Gormglaith Hafgan Halsen (Celtic for "dark blue-green lake, storm in summer changing course") in a pastoral late summer setting under elm trees, mid-conversation with her friend Findabair. Their rolling banter deftly pulls us into the story, and a state of extreme culture shock. This is wonderfully written and fun English dialog, but not quite any sort the reader has encountered before... Gormglaith's radical setting, vocabulary and deceptively linear structure will present a challenging and rewarding read for some, but it'll be a difficult, uneven slog for others. This may depend more on individual temperament and interest in the story than on reading skills. As feminist literature it's unceasingly assertive, positive and controversial. As hard science fiction it offers a deeply structured, often entertaining story, at turns inspiring and disturbing, in a unique contribution to the genre."<ref name="urlQuiet Mountain Essays; Gormglaith Book Review by Karen Campbell">{{cite web |url=http://www.quietmountainessays.org/Gormglaith.html |title=Quiet Mountain Essays; "Gormglaith" Book Review by Karen Campbell |author= Karen Campbell|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2004|format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/5bfJs3ZS8|archivedate= 2008-10-18|quote= |accessdate=2008-10-18}}</ref>

'''Notes'''
{{reflist}}

'''External links'''
*[http://skepchick.org/blog/?p=636 Wyss interviewed about ''Gormglaith'' at Skepchick.org]
*[http://www.literateweb.com/wyss.htm Gormglaith] online at Literateweb.

<nowiki>[[Category:2007 novels]]</nowiki>
<nowiki>[[Category:Science fiction novels]]</nowiki>
<nowiki>[[Category:Utopian novels]]</nowiki>
<nowiki>[[Category:Feminist science fiction]]</nowiki>

===Consequences===
As usual on Wikipedia, even the most conflicted volunteers think that they are better than others to lead the project, and ''Gwen Gale'' had even put herself up for election to the Arbitration Committee, Wikipedia's highest ruling authority below the Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees and staff. Once her conflicted edits were exposed, though, she withdrew herself from consideration for ArbCom.

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.

==Tolerance of plagiarism==
The original version of any wiki-formatted article about the Arch Coal company was authored in September 2006 by [[Directory:Gregory J. Kohs|Gregory Kohs]] and released under the terms of the GFDL on this website, [[Directory:MyWikiBiz|MyWikiBiz.com]]. It was then scraped by an independent editor into Wikipedia. In October 2006, erroneously thinking that the article was paid for by Arch Coal, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales acted to delete the article from Wikipedia, but the Wikipedia community determined that Wales' action had been unjustified. The article was revised, largely by "User:JzG" (Guy Chapman). However, in January 2008, Kohs demonstrated to Chapman that the article as modified by User:JzG actually plagiarized many aspects of the original. Faced with that evidence, Chapman elected to cover up his misdeed by [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&page=Arch_Coal deleting the original edits] on the Wikipedia site, thus making the provenance of the article appear to have come from Chapman, and not from MyWikiBiz. When Jimmy Wales was notified about this violation of professional ethics and proper GFDL attribution of the edit history, Wales '''very reluctantly''' restored the original edit history, with the childish edit summary, "''might as well restore all of it I suppose''".

When later asked to comment on this affair, Jimmy Wales instead relied on one of his loyal followers to [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales&diff=255481782&oldid=255480598 erase the uncomfortable question] and to [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=User%3AEast_Bradford block the editor] who asked it.

===Additional comment===
When in December 2008, Kohs [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arch_Coal&diff=255480884&oldid=255154863 sought to improve] the article about Arch Coal on Wikipedia, his improvements were [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arch_Coal&diff=next&oldid=255480884 reverted back] by a mindless administrator from Belgium. This underscores the true system of editorial control on Wikipedia -- it matters not the '''content''' of one's edits, but rather '''who''' authors the content. (Which, of course, directly contradicts Wikipedia's supposed credo that "anyone can edit".)

==Rachel Marsden affair==
Wales allegedly made attempts to "clean up" a Wikipedia entry for a woman with whom he had a relationship, and it generated headlines.

The Wikipedia article regarding controversial [[Directory:Canada|Canadian]] radio commentator [[Rachel Marsden]] has been the subject of controversy on Wikipedia from some years. According to Ms. Marsden, whom Wales has admitted to dating, she had asked [[Wikipedia]] to delete her [[biography]]. Her concerns led her to contact Wikipedia co-founder [[Jimmy Wales]] in 2006, claiming that it was wrong and libelous. According to her, he reviewed her biography and, deeming that it was not up to standard, helped to clean up the entry. However, the article was mainly revised as the result of an extensive review by Wikipedia's arbitration committee.<ref>I did much of the work on this case, and probably played the major role in providing guidelines for revising the article. Jimmy Wales played little, if any, role in editing the article or requesting its revision. Guidelines for editing were based on Wikipedia's Biographies of living person's policy, <nowiki>[[w:Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons]]. [[User:Fred Bauder|Fred]] [[User talk:Fred Bauder|Talk]]</nowiki> 22:44, 17 March 2008 (EDT) </ref>

Wales announced in a statement on Wikipedia "My involvement in cases like this is completely routine, and I am proud of it."<ref name=smh/> On [[February 29]], [[2008]], the technology gossip blog [[Valleywag]] claimed that they had entered into a relationship, and published instant messaging chats that they had allegedly exchanged. On the following day Wales announced on his Wikipedia user page that he was no longer involved with her. In return, Marsden, who claimed to have learned about the breakup by reading about it on the Internet, turned to [[eBay]] and put up for auction a [[t-shirt]] and sweater that she claimed to be Wales'.<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/03/02/marsden-breakup.html
| title = Canadian pundit, Wikipedia founder in messy breakup
| author = Siri Agrell
| publisher = [[The Canadian Press]]
| date = [[2008-03-02]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-06
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080304.wlbreakup04/BNStory/lifeMain/home
| title = Ms. Marsden's cyberspace breakup: tit-for-tat-for-T-shirt
| author = Siri Agrell
| publisher = [[The Globe and Mail]]
| date = [[2008-03-04]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-05
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334652,00.html
| title = Wikipedia Founder's Fling With Columnist Ends in Nasty Public Breakup
| publisher = [[Fox News Channel|FOXNews.com]]
| date = [[2008-03-03]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-05
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url = http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3475722.ece
| title = Fury of a woman scorned – on Wikipedia
| publisher = [[The Times]]
| date = [[2008-03-04]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-05
}}</ref><ref name=smh>{{cite news
| url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/ex-takes-her-revenge-on-mr-wiki/2008/03/04/1204402405901.html
| title = Ex takes her revenge on Mr Wikipedia
| publisher = [[The Sydney Morning Herald]]
| author = Asher Moses
| date = [[2008-03-04]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-05
}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2008-03-04-wikipedia-wales_N.htm?csp=34
| title = Wikipedia's Wales defends breakup, expenses
| publisher = [[USA Today]]
| date = [[2008-03-05]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-05
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url = http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004286879_btwikipedia17.html
| title = Wikipedia experiences growing pains
| author = Alana Semuels
| publisher = Seattle Times
| date = [[2008-03-17]]
| accessdate = 2008-03-17
}}</ref>

A typical editor of Wikipedia is not allowed to document this incident within the Wikipedia article about Jimmy Wales.

==Scorpions "Virgin Killer" album cover==
In December 2008, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) added to its "potentially illegal" list the Wikipedia image of the original album cover of The Scorpions' fourth release, ''Virgin Killer''. The image depicted a young girl posed naked with only her vulva covered by the appearance of cracked glass. Many found the picture offensive. Internet service providers in the [[Directory:United Kingdom|UK]] followed suit with the IWF and blocked the image and page from users' browsing, and channeling those requests through a very limited set of IP addresses.

Regardless of your opinions about whether this image constitutes child pornography, or whether the IWF engaged in "censorship" of art, one thing was clearly missed by the mainstream media in this affair:

:''If Wikipedia did not suffer from an intractable vandalism problem, this one-page block on a 22-yr old album cover might never have been noticed. It was only noticed because the proxy IP was blocked on the Wikipedia side of the connection.''
:''The fact of the matter is, Wikipedia admins blithely block thousands of IPs, sometimes in wholesale range-blocks that affect major metropolitan areas.'' - [http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=21516&view=findpost&p=146163 Barry Kort], 12/09/2008.

That is, the Wikipedia apparatus practices wide-scale editorial censorship, without due process, on an hourly basis; yet few seem concerned about this even within an encyclopedia that purportedly ''anyone can edit''. Yet, there is much wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth when an image that portrays a young girl, told by a photographer to strip down naked and pose for the camera, all in the name of marketing a rock band's album, is censored.

===Put images to the test===
[[Image:St_Pete_billboard.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Would you contribute $25 to see this billboard in real life? ''(Click picture only if you're a not-easily-offended adult)'']] Many Wikipedia zealots possess a feverish reflex urge to shout "Wikipedia is not censored" and will defend vehemently not only the ''right'' but the '''''need''''' to publish on Wikimedia servers prurient content that is neither properly sourced nor even encyclopedic in nature. One Wikipedian pauses to note:

:''...I really do worry that any media organisation actually putting the effort in to scratch beneath the surface of the Wiki machine may find some things that will be harder to defend than an album cover from 1976.'' - [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales&diff=next&oldid=256870274 "George the Dragon"], 12/09/2008.

Wouldn't it be interesting to put the Wikipedia standard to the test, say, in an environment of "community standards" like St. Petersburg, [[Directory:Florida|Florida]]? How fun would it be to start a grassroots fundraising campaign to pay for a "free speech"-testing, GFDL billboard such as this one? Comment on [[Talk:Wikipedia_scandals|this talk page]].

==David Boothroyd, sockpuppet admin==
[[Directory:David Boothroyd|David Boothroyd]] created controversy in 2009 when it was discovered that he edited [[Wikipedia]] under the user names '''Dbiv''', '''Fys''', and '''Sam Blacketer''' and eventually became part of the site's policy-enforcing Arbitration Committee. After earning Administrator status with one account, then being de-sysopped for inappropriate use of the admin tools, Boothroyd regained Administrator status with the "Sam Blacketer" sockpuppet account. A [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] member, after being sleuthed out by [[Directory:Wikipedia Review|Wikipedia Review]] contributor, "Tarantino", Boothroyd outted himself for having used [[sockpuppet|sockpuppets]] in the course of obtaining his position and for having edited the article of [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] leader [[David Cameron]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/05/26/wikipedia_westminster_councillor/|title=Sockpuppeting British politico resigns from Wikisupremecourt|last=Metz|first=Cade|date=26 May 2009|publisher=[[The Register]]|accessdate=2009-05-27}}</ref>

==External links==
<references/>
[http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?showtopic=18620 Milton Roe's 18 Promises about Editing Wikipedia] - A Wikipedia Dissenter's Credo

 
[[Keyword:=Wikipedia]], [[Keyword:=Scandal]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]