[Wikipedia-l] Wikipedia to seek proof of credentials (Sify.com, India)

[Frederick Noronha]

http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14405629

Wikipedia to seek proof of credentials

Following revelations that a high-ranking member of Wikipedia's
bureaucracy used his cloak of anonymity to lie about being a professor
of religion, the free Internet encyclopedia plans to ask contributors
who claim such credentials to identify themselves.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales said in interviews by phone and instant
message Wednesday from Japan that contributors still would be able to
remain anonymous. But he said they should only be allowed to cite some
professional expertise in a subject if those credentials have been
verified.

"We always prefer to give a positive incentive rather than absolute
prohibition, so that people can contribute without a lot of hassle,"
Wales wrote.

Wales suggested such a plan two years ago, but the idea suddenly
gained currency after the recent discovery that a prolific Wikipedia
contributor who wrote under the pen name "Essjay" and claimed to be a
professor of theology turned out to be a 24-year-old college dropout,
Ryan Jordan.

Jordan's fraud came to light last week when The New Yorker published
an editor's note stating that a 2006 Wikipedia profile in the magazine
had erroneously described Essjay's purported academic resume. The New
Yorker said a Wikipedia higher-up had vouched for Essjay to the author
of the piece, Stacy Schiff, but that neither knew Essjay's real
identity.

In addition to contributing thousands of articles to the sprawling Web
encyclopedia, Jordan had recently been promoted to arbitrator, a
position for trusted members of the community. Arbitrators can
overrule an edit made by another volunteer or block people who abuse
the site.

Jordan also was hired in January by Wikia Inc., a for-profit venture
run by Wales. He has since been dismissed.

Jordan has not returned an e-mail seeking comment from The Associated
Press. But in a note on his Wikipedia "user page" before it was
officially "retired," he apologized for any harm he caused Wikipedia.

"It was, quite honestly, my impression that it was well known that I
was not who I claimed to be, and that in the absence of any
confirmation, no respectible (sic) publication would print it," he
wrote.

Wikipedia is full of anonymous contributors like Essjay, whose user
page also once proclaimed: "My Wikipedia motto is `Lux et Veritas'
(Light and Truth) and I believe more individuals should contribute
with an intention to bring light to the community and truth to the
encyclopedia."

The anonymity of the site is a frequent cause of mischief - from
juvenile vandalism of entries to the infamous case involving
journalist John Seigenthaler Sr., who was incorrectly described as a
suspect in the Kennedy assassinations. And that has raised concerns
about the credibility of the site.

But anonymity is also considered one of the main forces behind
Wikipedia's astonishing growth, to nearly 1.7 million articles in
English and millions more in dozens of other languages. Wales has said
he is an "anti-credentialist" - because anonymity puts a reader's
attention on the substance of what people have written rather than who
they are.

Wales said Wednesday that belief is unchanged. But, he said, if people
want to claim expertise on Wikipedia, they ought to be prompted to
prove it. If they don't want to give their real names, they shouldn't
be allowed to tout credentials. Had that policy been in place, Wales
said, Jordan probably would not have gotten away with claiming a Ph.D.
in religion.

"It's always inappropriate to try to win an argument by flashing your
credentials," Wales said, "and even more so if those credentials are
inaccurate."

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