Wikipedia, the Ethos

Here is the second of the two-part article from the Boston Globe about Wikipedia. They are interviewing a few of the Wikipedians to talk about the underlying ethos of the project. They have a connected article that you can see by linking above, that interviews more of the Boston area Wikipedians if you are interested. As a librarian, I have truly mixed feelings. I am feeling more drawn to the idealism expressed in the Wiki plan. But I do understand the feelings of Mr. Seigenthaler, Sr., the Nashville, Tennessee, newspaper editor who was libelled on Wikipedia. He protested, and the material was removed. But it remains in the record of edits. That is the policy of Wikipedia, and the record of edits is open to public scrutiny. He complains that his grandchildren could see this, and it is true. The other problem is that there are wikipedians who are so angry at his complaints that they continue to vandalize his article on Wikipedia, so there is a very long and growing list of edits for his grandchildren to see. Poor man!