Changes

I just learned today that if you consider all of the English Wikipedia’s biographies of living people, and cross-reference that list with a server-level database of the pages that registered editor accounts have decided to put on their own “Watchlist” (to keep tabs on changes to the articles), something grave becomes apparent.

I just learned today that if you consider all of the English Wikipedia’s biographies of living people, and cross-reference that list with a server-level database of the pages that registered editor accounts have decided to put on their own “Watchlist” (to keep tabs on changes to the articles), something grave becomes apparent.

Over 295,000 such biographies, or nearly 70% of all biographies of living people, are being watched by fewer than 4 registered accounts.  Not to mention, there’s no telling if those watchlists are in the possession of accounts who log in daily or weekly or monthly or not since [https://web.archive.org/web/20100121231826/http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ratcliffe/?p=271 Essjay said he was a multi-degreed theologian].

Over 295,000 such biographies, or nearly 70% of all biographies of living people, are being watched by fewer than 4 registered accounts.  Not to mention, there’s no telling if those watchlists are in the possession of accounts who log in daily or weekly or monthly or not since [http://web.archive.org/web/20100121231826/http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ratcliffe/?p=271 Essjay said he was a multi-degreed theologian].

No wonder libel and defamation abound on Wikipedia.

No wonder libel and defamation abound on Wikipedia.