OK, So They Can't Beat Up The Wikipedia, So They Try Jimmy Wales.

Well, shucks, they got Jimbo editing his own bio on the Wikipedia. Jimmy Wales did the sensible thing and told the truth - and he, of all people, knows that the history of his changes would be public.

Cloak and dagger, indeed. If he were sneaking around, wouldn't he have done it anonymously instead of leaving his name?

And somehow, Wired magazine qualifies this as news, oddly enough when the Wikimedia Foundation is seeking foundations, while various other 'anti-Wikipedia' sentiment floats around the web. At least eWeek talks positively about how flaws are being handled, and there's even a compliment by way of mimicry expected soon¹.

Meanwhile, we have the Wikipedia archnemesis equivalent of SCO promising people money if they sue the Wikipedia. Jennifer Monroe? Any relation to Darl McBride? We all know that lawyers bring out the best in everyone...

In the end, $58,250.63 U.S. dollars from around the world have voted to keep the Wikipedia in existence (how does little Jenny expect to get millions? Piercing a corporate veil?).

But here's the cool part of all of this - someone who still apparently gets it Gives us Ten Wikipedia hacks which I didn't even know about, and which I have to play with. Thank you, Steve Rubel, for keeping the whole topic in focus - access to knowledge in new and creative ways. This article makes the Wired magazine article look like something that belongs in a magazine where someone is having Elvis's love child. Maybe it's name will be Jenny.

¹Arguably so academics don't feel that they have to compete with grassroots. We'll see how that unfolds..