Administrator WJBscribe Options

[Pwok]

So, I sat down and read the entire New Yorker article about Wikipedia, including the editor's note about Essjay, i.e., Ryan Jordan, the man-child who falsified his resume and was praised for it by Jimmy Wales. In the aftermath, The New York Times wrote about the whole thing, which wound up embarrassing Wales and Wikipedia enough to cut Jordan loose.

So far, so good, but then I noticed something in the NYT piece. An administrator identified as WJBscribe is quoted rising to the young liar's defense thusly:

Just wanted to express my 100 percent support for everything you do around here. I think you were totally entitled to protect your identity. Don't let all the fuss get you down!"

Folks, this is the same WJBscribe who has intervened to censor verified, public-record information from the Matt Sanchez article that I discussed previously in the Articles section of this site. He has also banned me from Wikipedia. I guess it's par for the course, but then maybe it's par for the course on this website is to point out that Wikipedia has an active administrator who removes facts and defends fabricators.

No wonder the thing is going down in flames. I don't know if anyone saw the latest Colbert segment on Wikipedia broadcast on August 22, but I'd say Wikipedia is rapidly turning into the punch line of a joke. It's their own fault. Last spring, they got a clear warning to turn things around, but their arrogance and irresponsibility prevented them from doing anything. Couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch.

This post has been edited by Pwok: Thu 23rd August 2007, 7:56am

[blissyu2]

Well, I think you'll find that a lot of people on Wikipedia Review liked Essjay. He was one of the nicest Wikipedia Administrators that we ever had come in here, and he was here during a time when we had some really nasty people. And I mean it is true that he refused to tell us about Amorrow, so we were a bit upset with him, and he added WR to the spam blacklist, but at least he was nice about it, and it seemed like a genuine mistake, and like he would get in trouble if he said the real reason why they thought that Amorrow was a stalker.

And I mean in a lot of ways, who cares if he lied about his credentials? The issue is whether he used that to influence things. Did he? I haven't seen any real evidence that he did. He also wasn't editing articles of historical importance, not highly controversial articles or historical articles, or anything like that. It was important as a technicality, and it highlights a general abuse, and indeed he needed to go down to prove the point. But at the same time I do feel quite sorry for him.

I think that he probably just started off wishing he had it. Its kind of like if I tell you that I have a PhD in Maths. I mean I would have if things had gone right in my life. I certainly feel like I deserved to have that qualification, but circumstances out of my control meant that I didn't get it. Perhaps that is the same situation with Essjay. It sounds like he did a pretty good job of faking it, so perhaps it was. I am sure that I could convince people that I had a PhD in Maths, in terms of my knowledge.

So just because WJBscribe supported him I don't think makes him a bad person.