Wikipedia Founders Plea For Donations Successful

Even in an economic downturn the pleas of Jimmy Wales for donations to keep the Wikimedia Foundation afloat have netted the non profit organization an average of more than $215,000 in donations every day. The foundation has a budget of $6-million for operations in 2009 and the most recent call for donations is expected to reach the funds needed by the middle of January. “We're really thrilled that people have come out in force and made a clear statement that they care about this cause and they care about Wikipedia, even though we were kind of nervous after the economic news became really clear,” said Jay Walsh, a spokesman for the Wikimedia Foundation. The foundation has 23 paid staff members but relies on some 150,000 volunteers to keep the site running and reasonably accurate.

Source: Globe and Mail.

CIA and Vatican amoungst Wikipedia editors

In my post yesterday, "WikiScanner keeping things real" I pointed to a story about a new website that allows you to see who is editing what on Wikipedia. In this story from Australia's Sydney Morning Herald, CIA and Vatican IP addresses are cited as the sources of edits to pages with obvious self serving intents. The CIA computers are linked to "nearly 300 edits to subjects including Iran's president, the Argentine navy, and China's nuclear arsenal." while an IP address belonging to the Vatican is said to have been used "to remove references to evidence linking Ireland's Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to a decades-old double murder." In a perfect world such measures would not be required to make Wikipedia an open and reliable tool. If nothing else perhaps those with intent to mislead will be a little more careful of where they are making their edits from.

WikiScanner keeping things real

Wikipedia is a noble project with an aim to provide information on any topic imaginable and for the most part it works, but the knock on it has always been the credibility of the sources. Now, in an effort to keep Wikipedia more open and honest, graduate student Virgil Griffiths has developed WikiScanner, a website that traces IP addresses of computers that have edited Wikipedia topics. It's a great idea, and it has the support of Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. CBC story here.

Note: WikiScanner must be under heavy traffic as the site is taking some time to load.

Wikipedia entry being investigated in wrestlers murder suicide

CNN's website is reporting that authorities are investigating a Wikipedia entry that mentioned Chris Benoit's wife's passing as the reason he missed a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) event on Sunday evening. The entry was made at 12:01 am Monday morning, about 14 hours before the bodies of Benoit, his wife and their 7 year old son were discovered by police. Wikipedia says the Internet protocol (IP) address associated with the entry is registered in Stamford, Connecticut which happens to be the home of WWE headquarters. Though IP addresses don't necessarily have to be broadcasting from where they are registered. An interesting twist to this tragic event. Police also are investigating Benoit's doctor in what many are speculating is a case of so called roid rage, steroids where apparently present in the Benoit home.