- Was this information spread to other web sites like Answers.com? Who do
I ask to find out?
Answers.com and other forks and mirrors don't update that often, if I am correct. It is highly unlikely that information that stayed there for only a few hours would be copied. To find out, you could check out Answers.com - I highly doubt that the information has been copied given its relatively short amount of time on Wikipedia.
- Do we all agree that this is a BIG problem. Can you imagine what would
happen if another major media source published Hager’s name on a list of convicted rapists?
I agre with you that this is a problem that we need to address sooner or later. The use of Wikipedia for slander, libel, or political reasons is huge, as evidenced both by the John Seigenthaler Sr. case and the German Wikipedia's polticial articles.
- How do I (hopefully, we) stop this unregistered user (or any other) from
doing this again? Being very, very generous, I will assume this was an isolated incidence of poor judgment. This doesn't change the fact that this libelous misinformation appeared in OUR encyclopedia.
Shouldn't this be question number three, by the way? :-) There's really no way to stop it except to keep a watch on the article and on the user's contributions. If s/he has a pattern of adding misleading information, you may wish to warn him about citing sources and verifiability. If he persists, a block may be needed.
- I can‘t unring this bell. The Wikipedia article is listed 6 in an
Yahoo search of the words David Hager. Being a registered user, I will be associated with this article forever. While, an unregistered user can damage Wikipedia, Hager, and me.
True; this should only make us more vigilant and aware of the people who strive to manipulate Wikipedia.
Immediate solution? Ask everyone here to put his name on your watch list. Long term solution?…….
Sorry, can't read your proposed long-term solution. Short-term solution, as you state - be more vigilant and aware.
Thanks!
Flcelloguy
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.
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