Wales: Wikipedia Changes Exaggerated

Only a few posts will be delayed for approval
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 30, 2009 5:30 PM CDT
Wales: Wikipedia Changes Exaggerated
Internet entrepreneur Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, attends the iBreakfast forum on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 in New York.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Wikipedia's editorial changes aren't so sweeping after all, says co-founder Jimmy Wales. Reports that the open-source encyclopedia would restrict edits to entries on all living people are “just completely wrong," he tells Time. Instead, the site will adopt “flagged revision”—in which edits are checked by a Wikipedia veteran before being posted—but only for a small number of articles selected on a case-by-case basis.

Think Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Britney—entries prone to hoaxes. Users can still recommend changes; they just won't see the light of day until approved. For all other entries, it's business as usual. Wales blamed the misinformation on Wikimedia’s fractured volunteer organization—in fact, a Wikimedia spokesman, when asked of Wales’ view of the policy, said it was “the first I’ve heard of it.”
(More Wikipedia stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X