"Some Colleges Cautiously Embrace Wikipedia"

[ericbarbour]

https://www.chronicle.com/article/Some- ... sly/243968
https://news.slashdot.org/story/18/07/2 ... edium=feed

As Wikipedia has matured, however, that consensus began to shift.

And students’ widespread use of Wikipedia has forced some cynics to acknowledge its role in higher education. “Whether or not you think a crowdsourced encyclopedia can work, that ship has sailed, and students are using it all the time,” Rust said.

What the Chronicle failed to mention: Wiki Edu is crawling with some of the most toxic Wikipedia insiders.
https://wikiedu.org/about-us/
If you've been pissed off at Wikipedia for any substantial of time, you will recognize Sue Gardner, Ian Ramjohn (aka Guettarda), Frank Schulenberg, and Sage Ross. (Adam "Protonk" Hyland used to work there also--what happened to him? Damned if I know. Or care. Little shit.)

I've got book wiki articles about their rotten dishonest little personal histories. Does anyone remember Guettarda's history? He wasn't a bad Wikipedian....except for his slavish, unbalanced, and dedicated protection of the Connolley "ID Cabal" and that incredible asshole BWilkins.

Some of the other Wiki Edu staffers are almost unquestionably longtime administrators who refuse to identify their Wikipedia accounts. So have a go at "outing" them if you like.

[CrowsNest]

I once feared the WEF was a threat for precisely this reason, it would give Wikipedia academic credibility and a much needed source of new editors - students. The fact they can only ever find one person to roll out to talk it up, namely Rosie, reassures me it is having next to no impact.

The two people interviewed in this piece who, as so far as we know, didn't have an ulterior motive to comment, didn't say anything that supports the headline at all. One simply admitted students copy from Wikipedia, the other rambled about maybe how Wikipedia has maybe perhaps made people question sources more. Because Wikipedia is garbage, being the subtext he was trying, and failing, to avoid saying.

This is basically what the WMF does these days, plant PR puff pieces in the media, and hope nobody digs too deep into whether what they claim/suggest, is really the truth. It's hilarious, because it isn't even really about raising cash anymore, they're just desperately trying to keep reminding people that hey, we're still here, please edit!

But sadly, they do not want to edit. If they thought students wouldn't catch on and share their experiences of what sort of horseshit the WEF is shovelling, they were wrong. They will use it how they've always used it, and maybe in twenty years time when every graduate is thick as mince, someone might catch on as to why that is.