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Wikipedia accuses PR firm of posting biased entries for cash
Wikipedia has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Texas publicity firm Wiki-PR over its alleged practice of "sockpuppeting," or posting articles for pay that make its clients look good. The open-source encyclopedia launched an investigation last month into the practice, which is a strong violation of its terms of service. That revealed over 300 phoney accounts stemming from the PR outfit, which it allegedly used to create articles for its clients that appear to be from unbiased sources. Wikipedia lawyers also accused Wiki-PR of "meatpuppetry," or using false identities to advocate certain positions in its user discussion forums. The site has closed all the fake accounts, saying the practice harms its reputation, abuses the labor of volunteers and can actually hurt the reputation of Wiki-PR's client firms -- if they're exposed by the press. Meanwhile, Wiki-PR told The Independent that "it's working with the Wikimedia foundation and its counsel to sort this out." Judging by its name alone, though, it might have to throw out its entire business model to do that.
Open source can help the developing world, but it's not without challenges
Many see open source technology as an ideological tool -- a way to promote freedom in a world of closed, proprietary systems. For Canonical's Jono Bacon, Mozilla's Stormy Peters and Wikimedia's Tomasz Finc, it's more about improving humanity. Speaking at Expand, they argued that open code connects the developing world and delivers meaningful local content. However, the trio is also aware of the potential pitfalls, such as fragmentation. They know that a successful open platform isn't born overnight.
Live from Expand: The Power of Free: Exploring the Open-Source Revolution
From Wikipedia to Firefox to Ubuntu and Android, open-source software has had a major impact in all of our lives over the past several years. We've brought representatives from Mozilla, Wikimedia and Canonical together to discuss how open-source software is driving the software industry. November 10, 2013 2:25:00 PM EST Follow all of Engadget's Expand coverage live from New York City right here!
Recommended Reading: the decline of Wikipedia, safecracking the brain and more
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books dealing with the subject of technology that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. The Decline of Wikipedia by Tom Simonite, Technology Review Wikipedia is still far and away one of the world's biggest websites but, as Tom Simonite explains in this piece for MIT's Technology Review, it's not without its share of problems -- problems that have been holding it back from becoming the trusted, authoritative source it's strived to be. Simonite looks at the roots of those problems and what they've meant for the site, and also what it's doing to address them, including a new initiative that promises to bring some of the biggest changes yet to a site that has tended to steer clear of change over the years.
Wikipedia mobile editing exits beta
The good folks at the Wikimedia Foundation have been toying with the concept of mobile editing for some time now, attempting to tap into the 15-percent of its user base who read the open encyclopedia on mobile devices. It's a growing segment of the population that includes potential readers in developing nations where handsets are far more prevalent than desktops. Of course, mobile editing has been a hard puzzle to crack, given the complexity of tools and the limitations of screen real estate on such devices, but Wikimedia's been toiling away with beta versions for a while, after mastering photo uploading. Now it's finally ready to open it up to all users with an account. For more info on getting started, peep the source link below.
Wikipedia rolls out VisualEditor, lets you edit without the cumbersome markup
Making simple edits to a post on Wikipedia hasn't traditionally been an impossible undertaking, but Wiki markup (the syntax used to add and adjust formatting) wasn't nearly as intuitive as it could have been. And editors dropped like flies as a result of confusing tags and a generally frustrating workflow. Now, in an attempt to simplify the editing process dramatically, the site's management team is adding a brand new What You See is What You Get (WYSIWYG) tool called VisualEditor. Making corrections is now as simple as hitting "Edit" and typing in your changes -- intuitive buttons for text formatting, list creation and adding headings enable you to make pages look nice and consistent without a lot of work. Assuming you're using a recent version of Chrome, Safari or Firefox, manual page overhauls should take minutes, rather than hours.
Wikimedia's small-screen future
The office is silent when our small film crew arrives at Wikimedia's San Francisco headquarters. There's none of the newsroom buzz one might associate with the operators of one of the world's largest sites. Hell, the day I started at AOL, there was a bulldog skateboarding through the halls. There are a few subtle, telltale internet startup signs, like several bottles of liquor hastily packed in a filing box on the lower floor, sitting next to a small CD mixer. While it's Friday afternoon, the company's resident mixologist is out at the moment. The celebration will have to wait. Just to the right of the party box is Song Yingxing, a conference room named for the Chinese encyclopedist, which has more recently adopted the "Mushroom Kingdom" name, owing to a slew of gaming consoles and peripherals housed inside. It won't stay that way for long, according to Matthew Roth, the foundation's global communications manager, who's kindly devoted much of his afternoon to chaperoning us around the two floors. "No one really plays the games," he says. The hammock, too, is empty for our visit. It would be easy enough to chalk up such good behavior to the presence of a visiting media outlet, but sometimes the simplest answer is the best: Friday afternoon or not, the folks seated at these desks are hard at work. In the lower of two levels occupied by the foundation, developers have their heads down, rushing to get the soon-to-be-released in-house Wikipedia app out the door. The project has only been on the drawing board since January, and the foundation only hired its first dedicated iOS developer in the past month. The move is the next step in expanding the site's already massive reach to corners of the world that it hasn't quite penetrated, an attempt to help the organization approach its utopian vision of free information for all. On its face, it's a simple photo uploader -- but it's more than that, really. It's a chance to open up Wikipedia editing to an even larger global audience. It's as good a reason as any to be inside on a beautiful mid-April Friday afternoon in Northern California.
Wikimedia Android and iOS app exits beta, aims for easy Wikipedia photo gathering
Wikimedia Commons, which acts as Wikipedia's media repository, has pushed its Android and iOS app out of the beta phase, giving photo collecting for the digital encyclopedia a workflow that isn't chained to a browser. By registering an account online and wielding the software, users can upload photographs taken with the application -- or within their device's library -- straight to the organization's database, and endow them with titles and descriptions. With the Android flavor, multiple photos can be uploaded at once, images can be assigned categories and those torn between snapping pictures for the open source book of knowledge and their social circles can share their contributions through the likes of Facebook, Twitter and other services. Ready to start pitching in? Hit the source links below to grab the apps.
Meet CARROT: the game-ified to do list
CARROT (US$0.99) is essentially a game with delusions of productivity. In fact, it was initially pitched to me as a utility app with "personality." That's problematic because it's not really all that useful. What it is, though, is silly fun with occasional side benefits of getting things done. I hand-picked the screen shot that goes with this post to reflect my "aha" moment. It's when I finally realized there was no way this app was actually interested in helping me organize my life and work. Once I relaxed and let go, CARROT was able to win me over with its charm and superb design. Your tolerance for Kawaii (かわいい, namely, that which is "lovable," "cute" or "adorable," according to Wikipedia) will influence how much you love or hate this app. CARROT is, frankly, twisted. It's basically GLaDOS as digital personal assistant. Your job is to keep it pleased, by finishing assigned tasks and keeping your work in order. I made sure to add "Buy cake and hire grief counselors" to my CARROT to-do list. The following video demonstrates the app in action.
Wikipedia expects to offer SMS-based access within months
Wikipedia has long been pushing for access to its communal knowledge among those who can't afford the latest technology, going so far as to strike deals with carriers to deliver free mobile web viewing. It's set to expand that reach to those for whom any advanced cellphone is out of the question. In part through the help of a Knight News Challenge grant and South Africa's Praekelt Foundation, the non-profit's Wikipedia Zero effort will offer its content through SMS and USSD messages in the next few months. Curious users will just have to send a text message to get an article in response, with no web required at all. It's a big step forward for democratizing online information for those who may not even have access to a smartphone, although we're curious as to how it will handle large articles; we can only imagine the volume of messages when trying to look up the known universe.
Wikipedia adds watchlists to mobile web app, plans to release more features soon
With over three billion mobile pageviews last month, Wikipedia certainly has the consumption side of information down. Mobile content creation, on the other hand, has been severely limited. Beginning with updates released today, the Wikimedia mobile web team aims to change that. This latest web app refresh includes the ability to log in or create an account to track articles on a user's watchlists. In addition, new users will see the watchlist star on their mobile devices as an incentive to create an account and join the community. Future updates will allow users to add photos and edit article content on the go, too -- but note that the Wikipedia bots will be keeping all you mobile pranksters in check. Hit up the source link to get started.
WildStar catalogues lore in its Galactic Archives
Senior Narrative Designer Cory Herndon is all about the lore of WildStar, which is why he's equally excited about the methods to relay it to the player. In the most recent WildStar Wednesday, Herndon unveils the game's Galactic Archives, which will do just that. The Galactic Archives will seem familiar to codices in other MMOs and RPGs. Entries are categorized into locations, creatures, sentient species, notable individuals, plants, minerals, technology, lore, enemies, and allies. Players will naturally unlock Archive sections as they play, expanding each individual article as more is discovered in-game. Herndon points out that while the Galactic Archives aren't the only method of relaying story, they are a crucial tool in gathering everything the player's experienced into one handy location. He also says that players pursuing the scientist path will enjoy expanded and additional selections beyond what others experience.
Google, Mozilla and Wikimedia projects get Maya language translations at one-day 'translathon'
Twenty native speakers of Yucatec, Mexico's most widely spoken Mayan tongue, met last Thursday to help bring the language to Google, Mozilla and Wikimedia projects. The event, dubbed Mozilla Translathon 2012, was organized to provide translations for Firefox, Google's Endangered Languages Project, the WikiMedia software that powers Wikipedia and 500 crowdsourced articles, to boot. Finding the right words, however, can often be a tricky proposition. "There are words that can't be translated," Mozilla's Mexico representative Julio Gómez told CNNMéxico. "In Maya, file doesn't exist. Tab doesn't exist." Gómez continues to explain that the group may keep foreign words as-is, or find other terms to represent the same ideas. In addition to software localization, it's believed that the effort could allow Maya speakers to "recover their identity and their cultural heritage," according to Wikimedia México president Iván Martínez. If you'd like to peruse wiki articles in the indigenous language, check out the source links below.
Bots edit Wikipedia, clean up your nonsense
Wikipedia, a triumph of human effort, knowledge and collaboration... or so we thought. Turns out that along with the tens of thousands of brains regularly editing the online encyclopedia, hundreds of bots also patrol the virtual aisles keeping us in check. Some of the bots take care of the boring stuff -- organizing, formatting and other admin. Others correct the wrongdoings of wiki-villains, such as removing off-topic vandalism and naughty language. In the beginning, pages were even created by select bots, pulling data from various sources to create bare bones records for our keystrokes to flesh out. They do a pretty good job, but there are fears that a rogue bot will one day ruin a lot of hard work, although due to the privileges needed it would have to be an inside job. So now you know -- the machines not only have access to the largest single collection of human knowledge, but they edit it for us too. Don't say we didn't warn you.
Bing one-ups knowledge graph, hires Encyclopaedia Britannica to supply results
It may have retired from the cut-throat world of print, but Encyclopaedia Britannica is enjoying a renaissance by supplying results to Bing. Search for a topic and a Knowledge Graph-esque box will offer supplementary information to help you on your way. If it's a topic that the Britannica editors haven't gotten around to covering (Jersey Shore, for example) then the search engine will instead pull the information from Wikipedia, Freebase and Qwicki. Now we're just hoping Bing doesn't plan to revive those door-to-door booksellers, we're a sucker for a good sales pitch.
Monmouthpedia: Wikipedia's very own QR-coated Welsh town (video)
Wikipedia's credence as a fount of reliable knowledge is indubitably dubious. That said, its penchant for community contribution is what's snowballed the site into a go-to digital destination for most online denizens. But forebear of a QR-indexed, former principality? Surely, there's a limit to the social web's reach. Well, come May 19th, that odd, but apt distinction will officially encapsulate Monmouthpedia, née Monmouth, Wales -- an experiment in informational graffiti. The project, originally born from a Bristol-based TEDx talk, has taken half a year for founder John Cummings to execute given the need for County Council and local business support, the installation of a pervasive, free WiFi network and additional article contributions from site volunteers. And thanks to QRpedia, curious mobile-wielding tourists that chance upon the quaint Welsh town will need only to scan the omnipresent codes for an easy redirect to a corresponding language-appropriate article. Lest you think this web-to-real world experiment is merely a one-off, bear in mind those code-bearing ceramic plates are built to last. Hop on past the break for a French-subbed informational video tour.
Mobile Miscellany: week of April 16th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, Verizon announced that its LTE service now covers two-thirds of the US population, and T-Mobile dropped its 'nice girl' image in attempt to position its HSPA+ network as a viable competitor to LTE. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of April 16th, 2012.
Hardest working man on the internet passes one million Wikipedia edits
Justin Knapp is probably the hardest working man on the internet after becoming the first person to pass the million-edit-mark on Wikipedia. Since 2005, he's made around 385 amendments per day, each one taking him around four minutes [Citation Needed]. Founder Jimmy Wales congratulated the 30-year-old on his personal feed and Mr. Knapp's been awarded the site's Special Barnstar medal and Golden Wiki award for his achievement. He took the news with a good dose of self-deprecating humor, saying that "being suddenly and involuntarily unemployed will do that to you." Hopefully there's a certificate wining its way in the post from the Guinness people.
Mobile Miscellany: week of April 2nd, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, CyanogenMod gained a new logo, Google acquired a mobile payments company and we learned that the HTC EVO 4G LTE for Sprint will include an embedded SIM card. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of April 2nd, 2012.
The storied past and changing future of encyclopedias on the Mac
It was with some nostalgia and sadness that I noted the death of the print edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica last week. It's yet another casualty of our rapid move to a digital world. The EB survived for 244 years, but interest was clearly not there for a set of books costing more than a thousand dollars that was out of date before it was off the presses. I started to think about the evolution of encyclopedias and remember all the CD-ROMS I had in the past that were filled with information and seemed such a wonder. My first memory is the Grolier's Multimedia Encyclopedia. It came out in 1987, a few years after the first Mac appeared. It survived through several editions, but was taken off the market in 2003. Then came Encarta from Microsoft. It was a US$50.00 CD that was heavy on multimedia, but rather light on depth. It had 66,000 articles and lots of pretty pictures. Encarta was introduced in the 90s, and was pulled off the market in 2009. The early encyclopedias has a lot of people longing for the grand daddy of reference books, the Encyclopedia Britannica. It finally arrived in a CD edition about 20 years ago, and later became a DVD edition (now called the 2012 Utlimate Edition) that sells for $39.95. It has 100,000 articles, and includes a free 1 year subscription to the more up-to-date online version. There are also free iOS versions of the EB, and an online edition available from any browser. The venerable World Book is still around. I grew up with one on my bedroom shelves when I was kid and I thought it contained all the world's knowledge. The company still publishes a 22 volume print edition. The World Book started as a CD-ROM for the Mac in 1990, and now survives as a downloadable program from the Mac app store. It's $29.99 and more than 2.5 GB in size. It works with Lion, and has mixed reviews. That brings us to Wikipedia, which is now a first stop reference for most of us. It's free, available from our desktops, laptops and iOS devices. It contains a lot of knowledge that can be accessed from anywhere you have internet connectivity. Wikipedia is generally accurate -- in 2005 the science journal Nature said it was almost as good as the Encyclopedia Britannica at science entries, but the folks at EB took issue with that. Further studies have generally agreed that Wikipedia is accurate, but contributors are not vetted in any way and articles are sometimes changed or eliminated when challenged. If the answer you are seeking is important, a good suggestion is to get a second source. That's good general advice when dealing with any information. That's my trip down memory lane. I've used all of the products I've mentioned above. I have a lot of nostalgia for books on wooden shelves, but the world is going another direction. We've never had access to more information at such a low price. Those printed encyclopedias could cost thousands of dollars. The CD versions were mostly under a hundred. Now, there is a lot of quality information for free. Wow.
