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HagbardCeline
Student-Teacher-Student-Teacher


Registered: 05/10/03
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Congress 'made Wikipedia changes'
#5283120 - 02/09/06 07:31 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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While inaccuracies being corrected is certainly justifiable, removal of information you deem unpleasing, but factually correct, is unfortunately exactly what I would expect from piece of shit politicians.
Few of my unfavorites:
Wikipedia said staffers of Senator Tom Harkin had removed a paragraph relating to Mr Harkin's having falsely claimed to have flown combat missions over North Vietnam, and his subsequent recantation.
Massachusetts newspapers disclosed last month that staffers for Representative Marty Meehan had polished the boss's Wikipedia biography.
Deleted were references to a long-abandoned promise to serve only four terms, and to his campaign war chest.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4695376.stm
Online reference site Wikipedia blames US Congress staff for partisan changes to a number of political biographies.
Computers traced to Capitol Hill removed unpalatable facts from articles on senators, while other entries were "vandalised", the site said.
An inquiry was launched after staff for Democratic representative Marty Meehan admitted polishing his biography.
Wikipedia is produced by readers who add entries and edit any page, and has become a widely-used reference tool.
'Liberal' to 'activist'
Using the public history of edits on Wikipedia, researchers collected the internet protocol numbers of computers linked to the US Senate and tracked the changes made to online pages.
The site lists half a dozen prominent biographies that had been changed by Senate computers, including those of Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, California Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa.
Senator Coleman's office has confirmed that staff there had made a number of changes to his online record.
Where he was described as a "liberal" back in college, this was changed to "activist".
Among other changes, staff also deleted a reference to Mr Coleman voting with President Bush 98% of the time in 2003, despite running as a moderate the year before.
Wikipedia said staffers of Senator Tom Harkin had removed a paragraph relating to Mr Harkin's having falsely claimed to have flown combat missions over North Vietnam, and his subsequent recantation.
A handful of miscellaneous vandalism edits had been made to some senators' articles, it said.
One example was the entry for Republican Senator Tom Coburn, of Oklahoma, who it was falsely alleged had been voted "most annoying senator".
Bush editing block
Senator Coleman's chief of staff, Erich Mische, said editing was done to correct inaccuracies and delete information that was not reflective of the politician.
The article on President Bush has been altered so many times - not just from within Congress - that Wikipedia's volunteer monitors have had to block further "editing"
"They've got an edit provision on there for the sake of editing when things are not accurate," Mr Mische told the Associated Press.
"I presume that if they did not want people to edit, they wouldn't allow you to edit."
Wikipedia says the controversy raises questions about whether it is ethical for those with a vested interest in the subject to edit entries about it.
It said the Congressional computer network has been blocked from editing for brief periods on a number of occasions in the last six months due to the inappropriate contributions.
The article on President Bush has been altered so many times - not just from within Congress - that Wikipedia's volunteer monitors have had to block further "editing".
But it also says its investigation showed the vast majority of edits from Senate IPs were "beneficial and helpful".
Massachusetts newspapers disclosed last month that staffers for Representative Marty Meehan had polished the boss's Wikipedia biography.
Deleted were references to a long-abandoned promise to serve only four terms, and to his campaign war chest.
Accuracy study
Wikipedia was founded in 2001 and has since grown to more than 1.8 million articles in 200 languages. Some 800,000 entries are in English.
It is based on wikis, open-source software which lets anyone fiddle with a webpage. Anyone reading a subject entry can disagree, edit, add, delete, or replace the entry.
A December 2005 study by the British journal Nature found it was about as accurate on science as the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
But it has been criticised for the correctness of entries, most recently over the biography of prominent US journalist John Seigenthaler - which incorrectly linked him to the Kennedy assassinations.
-------------------- I keep it real because I think it is important that a highly esteemed individual such as myself keep it real lest they experience the dreaded spontaneous non-existance of no longer keeping it real. - Hagbard Celine
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kotik
fuckingsuperhero


Registered: 06/29/04
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Re: Congress 'made Wikipedia changes' [Re: HagbardCeline]
#5283828 - 02/09/06 10:16 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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ya, wikipedia is kind of known for that. anyone with a team of people constantly messing with an entry will pretty much dominate the topic.
-------------------- No statements made in any post or message by myself should be construed to mean that I am now, or have ever been, participating in or considering participation in any activities in violation of any local, state, or federal laws. All posts are works of fiction.
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Basilides
Servent ofWisdom


Registered: 02/10/06
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Re: Congress 'made Wikipedia changes' [Re: HagbardCeline]
#5286106 - 02/10/06 02:14 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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When you control Wikipedia, you control information
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    "Have you found the beginning, then, that you are looking for the end? You see, the end will be where the beginning is. Congratulations to the one who stands at the beginning: that one will know the end and will not taste death."
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wilshire
free radical


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Re: Congress 'made Wikipedia changes' [Re: HagbardCeline]
#5286658 - 02/10/06 05:07 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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they left out my favorite:
"Coburn was voted the most annoying Senator by his peers in Congress. This was due to Senator Coburn being a huge douche-bag."
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole

Registered: 02/11/04
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Re: Congress 'made Wikipedia changes' [Re: wilshire]
#5286695 - 02/10/06 05:22 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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The headline of your thread is misleading and bordering on a lie. Congress did no such thing. The staffers in the offices of a few Congresscritters did some sleazy things. This is a far cry from "Congress" doing them.
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HagbardCeline
Student-Teacher-Student-Teacher


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Posts: 10,026
Loc: Overjoyed, at the bottom ...
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Re: Congress 'made Wikipedia changes' [Re: zappaisgod]
#5286757 - 02/10/06 05:55 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Easy fella.
Blame the BBC. I just cut and pasted. It is a misrepresentation though.
-------------------- I keep it real because I think it is important that a highly esteemed individual such as myself keep it real lest they experience the dreaded spontaneous non-existance of no longer keeping it real. - Hagbard Celine
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole

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Re: Congress 'made Wikipedia changes' [Re: HagbardCeline]
#5287084 - 02/10/06 07:46 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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No problem
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zorbman
blarrr


Registered: 06/04/04
Posts: 5,952
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Re: Congress 'made Wikipedia changes' [Re: zappaisgod]
#5287720 - 02/11/06 12:31 AM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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"Plausible deniability" is what it's called.
-------------------- “The crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought.” -- Rudiger Dornbusch
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Nox1
Stranger
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Re: Congress 'made Wikipedia changes' [Re: zappaisgod]
#5287785 - 02/11/06 01:15 AM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
zappaisgod said: The headline of your thread is misleading and bordering on a lie. Congress did no such thing. The staffers in the offices of a few Congresscritters did some sleazy things. This is a far cry from "Congress" doing them.
"Honest" Joe Biden is one of the sleaze mongers who is blaming "staff". Joe's bio now says that Joe is only "alleged" to have plagiarized the speech the Brit gave. While it is possible that Joe himself did not do the dirty deed (it assumes that Joe can read, write, and type while using a computer ... will assumptions never cease), Joe is not exonerated since He is responsible for the actions of his staff.
Maybe 'Congress' is an overstep ... But Joe and company remain sleaze.
Nox
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zappaisgod
horrid asshole

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Re: Congress 'made Wikipedia changes' [Re: Nox1]
#5288408 - 02/11/06 11:19 AM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Even an act by an individual member of Congress does not meet the standard of an act of Congress. Congress did not do this. Individuals in Congress may have, and/or their staffers, with or without their knowledge, but this is not an action by Congress. The title is misleading at the least and a lie in my opinion. I accept HC's response that it was just cut and not his title. He acknowledges that it is misleading.
Interesting that it seems to be only Democrats deliberately polluting a public well.
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