Editing Wikipedia
June 6th, 2009 at 10:25 am by David FarrarThe Dom Post reports:
A worker in an MP’s office has been banned from Wikipedia the volunteer web encyclopedia for trying to censor information about his boss.
The website’s entry for Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga, National MP for Maungakiekie, was repeatedly tampered with on Thursday morning.
Wikipedia users identified the computer as being from Parliament by its IP address and banned the user for a week for the “conflict of interest” and lack of explanation for the changes.
Mr Lotu-Iiga yesterday denied editing the entry himself, saying a member of his staff had done it. But he defended the changes, which related to his dual role as an MP and Auckland city councillor. …
Mr Lotu-Iiga said he had not read the page until contacted by The Dominion Post yesterday, but downplayed it as “not a biggie for me”.
“I have guys in my office who look after PR and where I am in the media, and one of them noticed that someone was tampering with it.”
After reading the piece, he said some of it was inaccurate because he regularly attended council meetings. “I’m happy to take some criticism, but I think the wording is a bit strong. Somebody from my office thought it was appropriate to take it down.”
Okay it looks like some staffers need a tutorial on how to edit Wikipedia. Here are my guidelines for editing a political page:
- Use the discuss page for that page you wish to edit. State why you want to make the change.
- So for example in this instance, the staffer should have said “I propose to delete the sentence that criticises the Council attendance record as the Herald has reported it is 86%, and higher than many others”
- Then if after a couple of days if no one has objected,make the edit, and refer to the discussion page in your one line summary of the edit
- If people do object to deleting the reference, then negotiate on the discuss page a compromise that people can live with – such as maintain the criticism, but also include the rebuttal.
- You don’t have to, but personally I would always identify yourself making the edit,so no-one can suggest you are being underhand
- If you make an edit, and someone reverses it, don’t just make it again. Find out why someone is reversing it, and discuss it with them. Do not get into an edit war.
- Always remember Wikipedia is meant to be a neutral point of view.
If you follow the above advice, you will avoid getting banned, and avoid embarrassing your boss.
Tags: Pesata Sam Lotu-liga, Wikipedia
June 6th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Here are my guidelines for editing a political page:
1. There are hundreds of cases where people in politics have been caught editing their own pages or the pages of “colleagues”. These cases always end in embarrassment. Under NO circumstance should anyone working in parliament edit ANYTHING in Wikipedia.
2. If an MP or a parliamentary staffer ignores point 1, then they should join Worth in the Idiot Box.
Vote:June 6th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Is it just me who objects to one having to spend days (or weeks) negotiating in order to have misinformation about their employer removed from the world’s eighth most popular website?
[DPF: If it is factually inaccurate, then you can delete immediately, so long as you state why. But if it is just a matter of opinion]
Vote:June 6th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Guys, plural, devoted to PR and media positioning for someone whose impact on the NZ political landscape, despite holding two elected roles, is… nothing?!
The government is rightly looking at issues round declaration of expenditure on trips etc. But what’s the cost of even the most extravagant overseas jaunt set against the salaries of these “guys”, whose role solely seems to be to make a nonentity look as though they count for something?
Vote:June 6th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Agree with you on Wikipedia editing practices DPF.
On the substantive issue that the edit was about, I just don’t believe it is possible to be an effective Member of Parliament at the same time as being a Councillor on a major metropolitan council. Both are full time jobs.
I’d put the Christine Rankin Families Commission appointment in the same category. Even though that’s a part-time job, she already has the worst attendance record of any Councillor on any Council in the Auckland region. How can she possibly find the time to take on something else?
Vote:June 6th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Wikipedia, neutral, now that would be an interesting concept. Some sections have their little ‘itlers controlling all access, and don’t let anything that doesn’t suit their point of view ever appear, rather like some blogs. Be interesting to know who put the lies about Sam onto Wikipedia in the first place.
Vote:June 6th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Ed Snack: Indeed. The neutrality of one’s point of view is entirely dependent on their popularity with those in the “inner circle”.
Vote:June 8th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
8. Ensure you have a National Party “boss”, as this sort of thing is apparently far more insidious when it is the work of the left.
Vote: