Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales Ironically Objects To Accurate Online Statements About Him
    By Hank Campbell | December 17th 2012 09:45 PM | 2 comments | Print | E-mail | Track Comments
    If we were to tell Jimmy Wales that the Science 2.0 entry is an unmitigated pile of garbage written by someone who either knows nothing about Science 2.0 that he didn't Google in 5 seconds (I say 'he' because the place is legendarily hostile to women so it unlikely to be a 'she') he would simply respond that we should fix it.  

    Well, his own site does not work that way. The person who knows nothing about Science 2.0 other than to declare it a subset of the meaninginless 'open science' generic term and deny its actual history simply reverts any edits and then gets together and tries to ban people who do fix it.

    Yet when he is called a 'pornographer' for his involvement in a site that sold naked pictures, he demands a retraction and objects that they are smearing him.  Now, in reality, Jimmy Wales is a pretty good guy but, come on, you have to live and die by your movement:
    Wikipedia’s own page about Bomis – a now-defunct company founded by Wales and his partner in 1996 – states that “Bomis ran a website called Bomis Premium at premium.bomis.com until 2005, offering customers access to premium, X-rated pornographic content.”

    Wikipedia also notes that launch of the popular website was supported by Bomis: “[Bomis'] primary business was the sale of advertising on the Bomis.com search portal, and to provide support for the free encyclopedia projects Nupedia and Wikipedia.”
    Well, there you have it.  X-rated pornographic content is what it is.



    I hope Wales wins his argument with WND. I also hope that Wikipedia is someday as transparent and equal as he claims it is, so someone who actually knows about Science 2.0 can edit as well as someone who knows nothing at all but has 'secret authority'. When that happens, perhaps sane people will participate and we won't have to make goat noises at anyone who cites them as a source for science.

    Here's your correction, Wikipedia by Chelsea Schilling WND

    Comments

    You say, "in reality, Jimmy Wales is a pretty good guy". How did you come to that conclusion? All of my interactions with him, as well as those interactions with many other people I have heard about, would tend to indicate that they opposite is true. I know this is just my opinion, but a web search for "criticism of Jimmy Wales" yields volumes of info, or just read the "Jimboland" sub-forum on Wikipediocracy.com.

    Hank
    I have spent time with him at the Commonwealth Club. Now, that is not a Wiki place so maybe he is different around people who work with him or who are opposed to him - but the same is said about lots of other people in business,
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