[WikiEN-l] Re: Raul's 6th law of Wikipedia confirmed

[Daniel P. B. Smith]

> From: Mark Pellegrini <mapellegrini at comcast.net>
>
> I'm more than a little suprised that no one is angry about the fact  
> that
> companies admit to subtle PR-pushing on Wikipedia. ("planting of viral
> information in entries, modification of entries to point to new
> promotional sites or 'leaks' embedded in entries to test diffusion of
> information.")  Where's the outrage? Why aren't people upset about  
> this?

I personally think that the co-opting of Wikipedia for commercial and  
promotional purposes is a real danger to Wikipedia.

I am especially concerned about the articles we get about movies,  
software, games, concert tours, reality TV shows, etc. that are  
_about to_ be released within the next couple of months, always with  
the assertion that they are certain to be very notable.

I have tried to get acceptance of a firm statement of policy about  
this into WP:NOT under the rubric of "Wikipedia is not a crystal  
ball," but it is one of those areas where there is, I fear, no  
consensus. The articles are in most cases seem to be written not  
directly by promoters, but by fans who identify with and buy into  
everything the promoters say or promise. I recognize that the  
existence of tens of thousands of excited fans in the present is a  
fact, but it is a generic one; hundreds of movies will come and go  
and each of them will be preceded by a wave of publicity that will  
carry enthusiasts along with it, always insisting that the particular  
wave they happen to be riding is a tsunami.

I think articles of this kind damage Wikipedia in a way that articles  
about generic elementary schools, streets, minor characters in Harry  
Potter, etc. do not.



--
Daniel P. B. Smith, dpbsmith at verizon.net
"Elinor Goulding Smith's Great Big Messy Book" is now back in print!
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