wikipedia

Thu
13
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

New Software Makes Wikipedia Fraud Detectable

Although it is the most widely-used, free web-based content encyclopaedia in the world, many online surfers are not inclined to believe everything they read on Wikipedia. In fact, most college and university professors will not allow their students ... to cite the database as a reputable source when producing research assignments. The unreliable reputation that has been linked to Wikipedia for quite some time is due to the fact that almost anyone can edit the entries that appear on the site, with little or no tools implemented to detect fraudulence. That's all about to change! Luca de Alfaro, a ... (view more)

Fri
24
Aug
Dennis Faas's picture

Who's Behind the Wikipedia Scandal?

Wikipedia, known as the "free encyclopedia that anyone can edit," allows users to correct false information and further develop informative articles. But, there is a flip side to anonymous edits, and one program is now showing just who's behind some ... of these critical changes. Virgil Griffiths created WikiScanner, a tool that identifies which IP addresses are making Wikipedia edits. WikiScanner has revealed that many top companies have been using Wikipedia to bash rivals while downplaying their own fumbles. Although WikiScanner cannot identify which people are making the edits, it can trace an ... (view more)

Wed
04
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

Wikipedia Co-Founder Creates Competing Site

One of the men responsible for the creation of Wikipedia.org is now trying to turn the tables against the website he helped bring to fruition. Larry Sanger promises that his new venture, Citizendium.org, "aims to improve on [the Wikipedia] model by ... adding 'gentle expert oversight' and requiring contributors to use their real names." (Source: citizendium.org ) "If there's going to be a free encyclopedia, I'd like there to be a better free encyclopedia," Sanger said. "It has bothered me that I helped to get a project started, Wikipedia, that people are misusing in this way, and yet the project ... (view more)

Fri
02
Mar
Dennis Faas's picture

Wikipedia Post Leads to Defamation Suit

Be careful what you post on Wikipedia! Although the online encyclopedia boasts that it's essentially an open source intellectual tool that uses publicly submitted articles, not everything is without consequence. While Wikipedia tends to monitor all ... of the posted articles with its own editors, a recent post on pro golfer Fuzzy Zoeller has the subject suing the article's writer for defamation. Zoeller is outraged that a post on Wikipedia labeled him a drug user, alcoholic, and abuser of his family. Report suggest that the poster's IP address has been traced back to an education consulting firm ... (view more)

Fri
23
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Wikipedia Now Among Top 10 Most Popular Sites

The online encyclopedia Wikipedia.org is currently a source of major controversy at universities everywhere. Some professors rave about Wikipedia's usefulness, while others have outright banned their students from using it. But love it or hate it, ... Wikipedia's popularity cannot be discounted. It was already among the top ten most popular websites in the world. However, surprisingly enough, there was one country where Wikipedia didn't hold that same distinction -- the United States. In January, that finally changed, with Wikipedia cracking the U.S. top ten in popularity for the first time ever ... (view more)

Wed
21
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Wikipedia Vows: No Ads

These days, advertisements are almost everywhere. But there's at least one place they can't be found: on Wikipedia. The website's advertisement-free model surely has generated a great deal of talk, with some praising and others opposing the site's ... refusal to include ads. Recently, discussions have evolved around the sustainability of Wikipedia's ad-less site. Currently, Wikimedia (the non-profit organization running Wikipedia) is funded almost entirely from donations, many of which are small individual donations. Wikimedia has managed to control its expenses in some areas such as labor -- the ... (view more)

Tue
06
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Professors Ban Students From Citing Wikipedia

The problem with having an encyclopedia to which anyone can add information is just that -- the fact that anyone, including non-credible sources, can add information. ;-) While Wikipedia has become a hit for both typical Internet users and students, ... it has failed to strike a chord with professors. Professors and other educators have developed concern about the reader-produced Wikipedia, noting the inaccuracies found throughout the website. Recently, the history department at Middlebury College in Vermont has decided to take a stronger stand against students using Wikipedia. It voted this ... (view more)

Tue
30
Jan
Dennis Faas's picture

Microsoft Offers Cash to Blogger to Change Wikipedia Articles

Wikipedia has publicly revealed their disappointment towards the Microsoft Corporation, after learning that the computer software powerhouse approached a well-known blogger and offered to pay him to make changes to a number of technical articles ... found on the online encyclopedia's website. Although Wikipedia has the reputation of being a publicly accessible encyclopedia that can be easily modified by a number of individuals (often anonymously), the moderators of the website have attempted to block a number of public relations firms and political campaign workers from posting fictitious or ... (view more)

Thu
04
Jan
Dennis Faas's picture

Wikipedia Co-Founder Planning 'Google Killer'

"Search is part of the fundamental infrastructure of the Internet. And, it is currently broken." Those harsh words come from Wikipedia.org co-founder Jimmy Wales. (Source: wikia.com ) Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, has quickly become a bona ... fide Internet sensation. Now Jimmy Wales wants to expand his horizons and challenge the big boys. And they don't come any bigger than Google! Wales has announced plans to create a search engine of his own. The project -- which is called Search Wikia -- is already being dubbed a "Google Killer." But don't hold your breath just yet. "We're not ... (view more)

Tue
14
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Virus Spoof Slams Wikipedia.org

It has been a controversial week for the free web encyclopedia known as Wikipedia. First, it was hit with a plagiarism scandal . Now, the website is under fire again because shady hackers have used it to distribute a virus. A page was created on the ... German version of Wikipedia warning users about a new variant of the Blaster worm. The article included a link to download a virus remover. Unfortunately for unsuspecting users, what they ended up downloading was the virus itself. (Source: Internetnews.com ) Anti-virus company Sophos posted this on its website: "Wikipedia allows anyone to create ... (view more)

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