Re: But ...
Because not every Reg reader might speak it as fluently, here is a translation of Wikispeak to English:
>>> A couple of corrections to you very interesting piece (and I will look at the referenced articles shortly).
"I really wish we could delete your piece just like any unpleasant Wikipedia entry and wipe it from the edit history, but unfortunately not the entire world is yet under our control, so we have to put up with this".
>>> 1. There are *no* "secret mailing list(s) used by top administrators to silence inconvenient voices". Wikimedia editors and admins are freely allowed to communicate with each other however they wish to do so, be it email, IRC, blogs or old-fashioned telephone, just as I am sure you (Cade Metz) do with your Reg colleagues and outside sources.
"Wikipedia admins are actively encouraged to form power circles and if you'd be pretending to be an encyclopedia, wouldn't you do the same?"
>>> 2. David Gerard does, indeed, look after media relations in the UK but his activities on Wikipedia are, just like every other editor new and old, as an individual, not as the representative of any body or organisation. Every individual editor can be called upon to justify their actions, and that is clearly as it should be.
"David Gerard is the guy we call when the shit hits the fan. Of course when it comes to being responsible for something, he behaves like all of us Wikipedians and tells you to suck a monkey. Because there can't be anyone responsible, as we are a collective that works cooperatively for the good of mankind".
>>> 3. Wikipedia is a charitable non-profit foundation and does not pay editors to edit nor does it have the resources to investigate claims and counter-claims other than using publically accessible information. Mistakes and misunderstandings can therefore happen. Having not heard of this case before this could be the situation here and I'm certain that your raising the issue on The Reg will get more eyes looking at the article histories and reviewing the situation.
"We do charitable work, how dare you to shed a bad light on that? We work our asses off for the good of everyone, whether you want it or not, and if something goes wrong there, it is for the greater good of all, especially ours. But now that you brought this shit, that should've stayed in the closet just like everything else we better hide, to the attention of the public, we will make double sure that we delete any incriminating evidence that hasn't yet been published".
>>>Just as naked shorting can hurt companies, so can old-fashioned misleading reporting. Let's hope both are on the decrease.
"Your interpretation of reality is way too realistic and not what we at Wikipedia would like to see. Maybe its time to block the entire Reg IP range and the surrounding neighbourhoods from editing Wikipedia".
Biting the hand that feeds IT
