[WikiEN-l] Wikipedia has PR Problems

[Marc Riddell]

> On 15/05/2008, Mark Nilrad <marknilrad at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> If someone uninvolved with Wikipedia was following the news on Wikipedia,
>> what kind of headlines on the news articles about Wikipedia would he see?
>> More or less, he would see: "Jimbo Wales Financial Troubles/Philandering"
>> (and...sexual exploits, and some troubling issues with his ex's article),
>> "Village in Englad falls to Vandalism (about vandalism, which was immediately
>> reverted after the story came out, to a page, which is now significantly
>> improved, about an English village)  "Parents of High Schoolers Criticize
>> Wikipedia" (relative to the threats posted to the HS in California's page),
>> "How Wikipedia Can Rip You Off" (based on a completely uninformed blog post,
>> but it was on the front page of Yahoo), "Pro-Israel group slanting
>> Wikipedia"...on and on the list goes. It's amazing how much bad news get
>> around about Wikipedia.
> 
> We have a lot of bad PR, certainly, but do with have PR problems?

Not if you don't have a conscience.

> Despite all the scandals in the press, Wikipedia holds a unique place
> in the public psyche as *the* place to go for pretty much anything you
> want to know,

Except how to treat people well.

> and that shows no signs of changing.

Pity.

> Everyone may hate
> Wikipedia, but they still use it, and that's what matters.
> 
Once again, the product is more important than the people.

Marc Riddell