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Is Wikipedia a scam?

Posted by: Ralph Ritoch on December 27, 2010 in Computers and Internet, Ralph's Entries

Many, if not most searches on Google, are going to return results from Wikipedia.  The site gives an impression that it is an ‘all-user contributed content’ and that it can contain anything.  This false vision of Wikipedia was destroyed the first time I decided to offer a contribution to the encylopedia.

My first contribution was an article about VNet Publishing, a project my wife and I started, and an article about the Virtual Web Platform which is a free software application I developed to help developers build web applications for small businesses. Doesn’t this seem like the kind of things you should find at Wikipedia?

WRONG!!!

Within 2 hours of submitting the articles, they were marked for deletion by editors… editors who are most likely employees of Wikipedia. The only thing they could site against the articles was “Notability”, saying “the project and the application are not notable.”  What kind of joke is this? The application was developed as part of the VNet Publishing project, and contains features which don’t exist in any other freely available web applications. How much more notable could an application be than providing unique features?

The truth is that, Wikipedia, like any Encyclopedia, is biased. While they don’t openly promote certain products or businesses over others, they do it in a sneaky way. The way they do it is by deleting any articles which don’t, in some way, support their hidden agendas, or worse, this may be like the google DMOZ directory where you have to pay off the editors to keep your submissions listed.

Save your money and don’t send donations to Wikipedia! There are many Wiki-based encyclopedia’s on the internet and some of them are probably really developed by the internet community. Wikipedia is clearly not a good net citizen, and I hope this article will open your eyes to the corporate greed and manipulation of information which is taking place on the internet!

*** Update: December, 28 2010

After a conversation with the editor responsible for the deletion the following information was attained. First, the editor denied being directly employed by Wikipedia and offered contacts where I could verify this information.  When confronted regarding receiving payment from another source for their editing the editor made no comment. It seems that these editors may be being paid by third party interests such as political groups or businesses with interest in controlling the content on Wikipedia.  Either way, while I have been unable to determine the exact nature of the scam, there seems to be something questionable going on behind the scenes.

About Ralph Ritoch

Founder and independent developer who developed the first version of the Virtual Web Platform.
  • Ralph Ritoch
  • andrew judd

    Wiki appears to be a scam. Getting changes on financial articles can be a waste of time and the deletions come quickly and with coordination. Editors who never discuss reasons for deletion are not answerable to anybody. The appeals process is long winded and the principal deleters are experts in wiki laws. The whole aim is to drive away knowledgeable people to ensure their reality prevails.

  • Marlene I. Bishop

    You made some first rate points there. I regarded on the internet for the difficulty and located most people will go along with along with your website.

  • Motton

    Wow! This was a real great post. In theory I’d like to write like this too – taking time and real effort to make a good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a lot and never seem to get something done. Hope you can help me with my writing skills. c:

  • Wendie Pomeranz

    Can I just say what a relief to seek out somebody who actually is aware of what they’re talking about on the internet. You positively know the right way to convey a difficulty to light and make it important. Extra people must learn this and understand this side of the story. I cant believe you’re not more common since you undoubtedly have the gift.

  • Burkle

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  • Firstactress

    This hapend to me too.  My articles were deleted and I was banned by the users who I think were employees of wikipedia.  I submitted articles on some artists and edited some errors on my country’s history.  They told me that if I post on wikipedia again I will be reported then banned.  I was surprised because I see articles they have on pornography actresess yet, they remove historical facts which are true and replace them with false information.  I was hurt, especially by the way they wrote me letters, they seemed full of malice.  I thought they were legitimate.  I also received a letter from the owner the same day asking if I can send wikipedia money.  I think he raised like $700,000 in a week or in a day. 

  • Firstactress

    This hapend to me too.  My articles were deleted and I was banned by the users who I think were employees of wikipedia.  I submitted articles on some artists and edited some errors on my country’s history.  They told me that if I post on wikipedia again I will be reported then banned.  I was surprised because I see articles they have on pornography actresess yet, they remove historical facts which are true and replace them with false information.  I was hurt, especially by the way they wrote me letters, they seemed full of malice.  I thought they were legitimate.  I also received a letter from the owner the same day asking if I can send wikipedia money.  I think he raised like $700,000 in a week or in a day. 

  • Xelha

    Sometimes I just tried to give an article a more encyclopaedic feel, removing unnecessary, out of topic and ridiculous “information”, but then my edits were labelled as “vandalism”, and all the s**t came back on the page, which is absurd.

  • Xelha

    Sometimes I just tried to give an article a more encyclopaedic feel, removing unnecessary, out of topic and ridiculous “information”, but then my edits were labelled as “vandalism”, and all the s**t came back on the page, which is absurd.

  • Julia

    Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.     Is a Lie.  I’m sorry, but that’s what I feel.  Not anyone can edit it, but only their employees which are 20 year old disrespectful people. 

  • Julia

    Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.     Is a Lie.  I’m sorry, but that’s what I feel.  Not anyone can edit it, but only their employees which are 20 year old disrespectful people. 

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