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Jump to navigationJump to searchUndo revision 106377 -- this section of content is a measurable source of inbound traffic to MyWikiBiz.com. Let's discuss on the Talk page before removing it again.
: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)
: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''':''<br>
'''''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==
==Tolerance of plagiarism==
