Difference between revisions of "Jimmy Wales"

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[[Image:Jimmy_wales_1.jpg‎|right|250px|thumb|Co-Founder of Wikipedia, Jimbo Wales]]
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[[Image:Jimmy_wales_1.jpg‎|right|250px|thumb|Co-Founder of Wikipedia, the [[atheism|atheist]] Jimmy Wales]]
'''Jimmy Wales''' is the co-founder of [[Wikipedia]] and self-described [[libertarian]].  Jimmy Wales claims to be an [[Objectivism|objectivist]] who follows the philosophy of [[Friedrich Hayek]] and [[atheist]] [[Ayn Rand]]. His favorite book is Rand's ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''.<ref>[http://qanda.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1042 Interview with Jimmy Wales conducted by Brian Lamb], C-SPAN Transcript, September 25, 2005.</ref>  Wales told an interviewer in ''Reason'' magazine, "One can't understand my ideas about Wikipedia without understanding [[Hayek]]," <ref>[http://reason.com/news/show/119689.html Wikipedia and Beyond],
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'''Jimmy Wales''' is the co-founder of the [[Examples of Bias in Wikipedia|politically left]] online encyclopedia [[Wikipedia]] and self-described [[libertarian]].  Jimmy Wales claims to be an [[Objectivism|objectivist]] who follows the philosophy of [[atheist]] [[Ayn Rand]]. His favorite book is Rand's ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''.<ref>[http://qanda.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1042 Interview with Jimmy Wales conducted by Brian Lamb], C-SPAN Transcript, September 25, 2005.</ref>  Wales told an interviewer in ''Reason'' magazine, "One can't understand my ideas about Wikipedia without understanding [[Hayek]]...Wales is fleshing out and bringing to life Hayek's insights about the power of decentralized knowledge gathering, the surprising strength of communities bound only by reputation, and the fluidity of self-governance." <ref>[http://reason.com/news/show/119689.html Wikipedia and Beyond],
Jimmy Wales' sprawling vision, Katherine Mangu-Ward, ''Reasononline.com'', June 2007.</ref> however there is thin evidence for this given the radical [[leftist]] agenda of Wales close confidants in control of Wikipedia.<ref name="Left_in_Control_of_Wikipedia">{{cite news
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Jimmy Wales' sprawling vision, Katherine Mangu-Ward, ''Reasononline.com'', June 2007.</ref> These ideas that Wales claims to follow were put forward in Hayek's essay "The Use of Knowledge in Society". However, there is thin evidence for his being a true follower of Hayek politically given the radical [[leftist]] agenda of Wales close confidants in control of Wikipedia.<ref name="Left_in_Control_of_Wikipedia">{{cite news
 
|first=Jim
 
|first=Jim
 
|last=Davis
 
|last=Davis
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|publisher=[[NewsMax]]
 
|publisher=[[NewsMax]]
 
|date=May 14, 2007
 
|date=May 14, 2007
|accessdate=2007-10-04}}</ref> Hayek wrote in ''Road to Serfdom'', "By the time Hitler came to power, [[Classical liberalism|liberalism]] was dead in Germany. And it was [[socialism]] that had killed it;"<ref>[http://www.iea.org.uk/files/upld-publication43pdf?.pdf ''Road to Serfdom'',] Friedrich A. Hayek, Reader's Digest Condensed Version, April 1945, pg. 36.</ref> editors trying to make this point in Wikipedia are routinely [[politically profiled|profiled]], stalked, harassed, slandered, and banned.
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|accessdate=2007-10-04}}</ref> Wales describes himself as a  [[communitarianism|communitarian]] (someone who could be said to be "radical center", meaning they agree with the left on issues relating to the economy, such as the need for environmental protection and public education, but not on cultural issues, but instead generally agree with the right or conservatives on cultural issues, such as support for character education and faith-based programs).<ref name="Left_in_Control_of_Wikipedia"/> The revisions have since been deleted by liberal Wikipedia administrators wishing to protect Jimmy's public image.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales&diff=238013334&oldid=366216764</ref> Editors trying to make this point in Wikipedia are routinely [[politically profiled|profiled]], stalked, harassed, slandered, and banned. An irony of internet history is that Jimmy Wales, despite being an atheist, refers to himself as Wikipedia's "spiritual leader".<ref>http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/09/wikimedia_pron_purge/</ref>
  
Jimmy Wales became a millionaire by trading commodity options; before funding Wikipedia, he funded Bomis Inc. in 1996, an online pornography portal.<ref>http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/12/69880</ref>  Besides funding the non-profit Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales also funded the for-profit [[Wikia]], a company that provides wiki services for businesses and organizations.
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Jimmy Wales became a millionaire by trading commodity options; before funding Wikipedia, he funded Bomis Inc. in 1996, which contained pornographic material.<ref>http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/12/69880</ref>  Bomis produced two unsuccessful search engines: "Search Bastard" and "3Apes", which went out of their way to insult users with obscenities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wikipedia-sucks-badly.blogspot.com/2014/12/before-wikipedia-search-bastard-and.html|title=Before Wikipedia: Search Bastard and 3Apes |date=December 23, 2014|accessdate=December 24, 2014}} Search Bastard existed from 2000 to 2006.</ref>  Besides funding the non-profit Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales also funded the for-profit [[Wikia]], a company that provides wiki services for businesses and organizations.
  
Wales was caught editing his own profile on Wikipedia in a bit of a scandal in an effort to downplay [[Larry Sanger]]'s role in the company and distance himself from his Bomis past.{{fact}}
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Wales was caught editing his own profile on Wikipedia in a bit of a scandal in an effort to downplay [[Larry Sanger]]'s role in the company and distance himself from his Bomis past.<ref>[http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,69880,00.html ''Wikipedia Founder Edits Own Bio''] Wired. Accessed 17 March 2008</ref>
  
==Controversy==
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Wales has accepted a new job as  executive director of strategy and digital community for [[The People’s Operator]] (TPO), a cell phone startup company with ties to the British [[Labour Party]]. Wales owns 10% of the new company. TPO has 10,000 subscribers in England and has plans to expand to the United States.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/telecoms/11156163/Wikipedia-founder-to-float-mobile-phone-company.html|title=
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Wikipedia founder to float mobile phone company|first=Graham|last=Ruddick|work=The Telegraph|date=October 11, 2014|accessdate=October 14, 2014}}</ref>
  
In early October 2005, former [[Robert F. Kennedy]] aide and retired journalist [[John Seigenthaler Sr.]] contacted Wales about false and libelous information in his Wikipedia biographical entry. [[Wikipedia#Second_casualty:_Wikipedia_.22experts.22_called_into_question.2C_the_Essjay_Scandal|Essjay]] got the call to deal with the situation.<ref>[http://www.wikitruth.info/index.php?title=User:Essjay/Letter User:Essjay/Letter].  Retrieved from WikiTruth, November 3, 2007.</ref> On December 1, 2005 Wales told ''Editor & Publisher'' magazine, the nation’s oldest trade journal serving the newspaper industry regarding Daniel Brandt,  
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==Controversies==
{{Cquote|I don't regard him as a valid source about anything at all... I find it hard to take him very seriously ...<ref>[http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/article_brief/eandp/1/1001612839 Wikipedia Founder, Readers Respond to Seigenthaler Article], Jay DeFoore, ''Editor & Publisher'', December 01, 2005.</ref>}}Brandt was the victim of malicious<ref>http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?showtopic=5641&pid=22336&mode=threaded&show=&st=0&#entry22336</ref> and vile slanders  placed within his Wikipedia biographical entry<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Daniel_Brandt&diff=prev&oldid=55132392</ref> by prominent Wikipedia contributors, in violation of numerous published Wikipedia policies.<ref>[http://www.conservapedia.com/Wikipedia#Impugning_critics Wikipedia#Impugning critics], Conservapedia.com</ref> Four days later in a joint appearance with Seigenthaler on [[CNN]] Wales said,  
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In early October 2005, former [[Robert F. Kennedy]] aide and retired journalist [[John Seigenthaler Sr.]] contacted Wales about false and libelous information in his Wikipedia biographical entry. [[Wikipedia#Second casualty: Wikipedia .22experts.22 called into question.2C the Essjay Scandal|Essjay]] got the call to deal with the situation.<ref>[http://www.wikitruth.info/index.php?title=User:Essjay/Letter User:Essjay/Letter].  Retrieved from WikiTruth, November 3, 2007.</ref> On December 1, 2005 Wales told ''Editor & Publisher'' magazine, the nation’s oldest trade journal serving the newspaper industry regarding [[Daniel Brandt]],  
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{{Cquote|I don't regard him as a valid source about anything at all... I find it hard to take him very seriously ...<ref>[http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/article_brief/eandp/1/1001612839 Wikipedia Founder, Readers Respond to Seigenthaler Article], Jay DeFoore, ''Editor & Publisher'', December 01, 2005.</ref>}}Brandt was the victim of malicious<ref>http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?showtopic=5641&st=60&p=22336&mode=linear#entry22336</ref> and vile slanders  placed within his Wikipedia biographical entry<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Daniel_Brandt&diff=prev&oldid=55132392</ref> by prominent Wikipedia contributors, in violation of numerous published Wikipedia policies.<ref>[http://www.conservapedia.com/Wikipedia#Impugning_critics Wikipedia#Impugning critics], Conservapedia.com</ref> Four days later in a joint appearance with Seigenthaler on [[CNN]] Wales said,  
 
{{Cquote|we are very, very responsive to complaints and concerns.<ref>http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0512/05/lol.02.html</ref>}}
 
{{Cquote|we are very, very responsive to complaints and concerns.<ref>http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0512/05/lol.02.html</ref>}}
 
Essjay was entrusted with oversight responsibilities in the wake of the Seigenthaler scandal and wrote to a professor to persuade her to allow students to cite Wikipedia as a "reliable source,"
 
Essjay was entrusted with oversight responsibilities in the wake of the Seigenthaler scandal and wrote to a professor to persuade her to allow students to cite Wikipedia as a "reliable source,"
 
{{Cquote|It is never the case that known incorrect information is allowed to remain in Wikipedia; we strive to provide a resource that is both accurate and expansive. As we approach one million articles (far more than any other encyclopedia could ever hope to attain) on the English Wikipedia alone (there are hundreds of thousands of articles in the projects that make up the Wikimedia Foundation in dozens of different languages), we prove ourselves as a resource like none ever known before.}}
 
{{Cquote|It is never the case that known incorrect information is allowed to remain in Wikipedia; we strive to provide a resource that is both accurate and expansive. As we approach one million articles (far more than any other encyclopedia could ever hope to attain) on the English Wikipedia alone (there are hundreds of thousands of articles in the projects that make up the Wikimedia Foundation in dozens of different languages), we prove ourselves as a resource like none ever known before.}}
  
The derogatory smears against Brandt, self-cited to a certifiably "extremist source" which "should never be used" remained in Brandt's biography for one and half years, with Jimbo Wales and the WikiMedia Foundations full knowledge.
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The derogatory smears against Brandt, self-cited to a certifiably "extremist source" which "should never be used" remained in Brandt's biography for one and half years, with Jimmy Wales and the WikiMedia Foundations full knowledge.
 +
 
 +
On December 14, 2012, WND columnist Judith Reisman defended heavy-metal drummer Bradlee Dean, who had been unfairly attacked on Wikipedia. She wrote,
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<blockquote>"Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia’s creator, made his original fortune as a pornography trafficker. Wales’ cult of far-leftist volunteer editor zealots labor minute-by-minute to mislead readers who think Wikipedia’s half-truths – and worse – are a legitimate 'encyclopedia.'"</blockquote>
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Wales sent an email in response claiming, "I have never been a 'pornography trafficker' at all." Instead of posting a correction WND posted detailed documentation which includes a posed photo of Wales flanked by two mostly undressed female models.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/heres-your-correction-wikipedia-founder/|title=Here's Your Correction, Wikipedia Founder|date=December 17, 2012|accessdate=December 26, 2012|work=WND}}</ref>
 +
 
 +
Some people start discussions on [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales his user talk page] much as supplicants approach a monarch.  In response, he might engage in a discussion, promise "to look into it", or simply delete it.<ref>E.g., {{cite web|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales&diff=prev&oldid=30754316|title= Speaking of "Unreadable Crap"|date=Dec. 5, 2005|accessdate=Sept. 20, 2013}}</ref>  However, the number of deletions and users banished from his talk page have increased in 2013.
 +
 
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In 2014, Wales received the "Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award", which is named after the Vice President of the United Arab Emerates (UAE) and carries a $500,000 value. Many Wikipedia editors were troubled because of the poor record that the UAE has on human rights.  In response, Wales said that he would use the money to establish his own private foundation to address human rights.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/12/22/the_withinthelaw_jimmy_wales_on_the_run_with_500000/|title=What's Jimmy Wales going to do with $500k from the UAE? He's gonna set up one of them darn foundations, of course... |work=The Register|date=December 22, 2014
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|first=Andrew |last=Orlowski|accessdate=December 22, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.examiner.com/article/broken-promises-of-jimmy-wales|title=Broken promises of Jimmy Wales|date=December 26, 2014|accessdate=December 27, 2014|work=Examiner}}</ref>
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
<small><references/></small>
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{{Reflist}}
  
==External Links==
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==External links==
[http://blog.jimmywales.com/ Jimmy Wales' Blog] (this blog was last updated Feb. 16, 2007)
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* [http://blog.jimmywales.com/ Jimmy Wales' Blog] (this blog was last updated Jan. 19, 2012)
  
 
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wales, Jimmy}}
  
[[Category:Wiki]]
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[[Category:Wikis]]
 
[[Category:Business People]]
 
[[Category:Business People]]
 
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[[Category:Wikimedia Foundation]]
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[[Category:Libertarians]]

Revision as of 12:15, July 22, 2016

File:Jimmy wales 1.jpg
Co-Founder of Wikipedia, the atheist Jimmy Wales

Jimmy Wales is the co-founder of the politically left online encyclopedia Wikipedia and self-described libertarian. Jimmy Wales claims to be an objectivist who follows the philosophy of atheist Ayn Rand. His favorite book is Rand's Atlas Shrugged.[1] Wales told an interviewer in Reason magazine, "One can't understand my ideas about Wikipedia without understanding Hayek...Wales is fleshing out and bringing to life Hayek's insights about the power of decentralized knowledge gathering, the surprising strength of communities bound only by reputation, and the fluidity of self-governance." [2] These ideas that Wales claims to follow were put forward in Hayek's essay "The Use of Knowledge in Society". However, there is thin evidence for his being a true follower of Hayek politically given the radical leftist agenda of Wales close confidants in control of Wikipedia.[3] Wales describes himself as a communitarian (someone who could be said to be "radical center", meaning they agree with the left on issues relating to the economy, such as the need for environmental protection and public education, but not on cultural issues, but instead generally agree with the right or conservatives on cultural issues, such as support for character education and faith-based programs).[3] The revisions have since been deleted by liberal Wikipedia administrators wishing to protect Jimmy's public image.[4] Editors trying to make this point in Wikipedia are routinely profiled, stalked, harassed, slandered, and banned. An irony of internet history is that Jimmy Wales, despite being an atheist, refers to himself as Wikipedia's "spiritual leader".[5]

Jimmy Wales became a millionaire by trading commodity options; before funding Wikipedia, he funded Bomis Inc. in 1996, which contained pornographic material.[6] Bomis produced two unsuccessful search engines: "Search Bastard" and "3Apes", which went out of their way to insult users with obscenities.[7] Besides funding the non-profit Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales also funded the for-profit Wikia, a company that provides wiki services for businesses and organizations.

Wales was caught editing his own profile on Wikipedia in a bit of a scandal in an effort to downplay Larry Sanger's role in the company and distance himself from his Bomis past.[8]

Wales has accepted a new job as executive director of strategy and digital community for The People’s Operator (TPO), a cell phone startup company with ties to the British Labour Party. Wales owns 10% of the new company. TPO has 10,000 subscribers in England and has plans to expand to the United States.[9]

Controversies

In early October 2005, former Robert F. Kennedy aide and retired journalist John Seigenthaler Sr. contacted Wales about false and libelous information in his Wikipedia biographical entry. Essjay got the call to deal with the situation.[10] On December 1, 2005 Wales told Editor & Publisher magazine, the nation’s oldest trade journal serving the newspaper industry regarding Daniel Brandt,

I don't regard him as a valid source about anything at all... I find it hard to take him very seriously ...[11]
Brandt was the victim of malicious[12] and vile slanders placed within his Wikipedia biographical entry[13] by prominent Wikipedia contributors, in violation of numerous published Wikipedia policies.[14] Four days later in a joint appearance with Seigenthaler on CNN Wales said,
we are very, very responsive to complaints and concerns.[15]

Essjay was entrusted with oversight responsibilities in the wake of the Seigenthaler scandal and wrote to a professor to persuade her to allow students to cite Wikipedia as a "reliable source,"

It is never the case that known incorrect information is allowed to remain in Wikipedia; we strive to provide a resource that is both accurate and expansive. As we approach one million articles (far more than any other encyclopedia could ever hope to attain) on the English Wikipedia alone (there are hundreds of thousands of articles in the projects that make up the Wikimedia Foundation in dozens of different languages), we prove ourselves as a resource like none ever known before.

The derogatory smears against Brandt, self-cited to a certifiably "extremist source" which "should never be used" remained in Brandt's biography for one and half years, with Jimmy Wales and the WikiMedia Foundations full knowledge.

On December 14, 2012, WND columnist Judith Reisman defended heavy-metal drummer Bradlee Dean, who had been unfairly attacked on Wikipedia. She wrote,

"Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia’s creator, made his original fortune as a pornography trafficker. Wales’ cult of far-leftist volunteer editor zealots labor minute-by-minute to mislead readers who think Wikipedia’s half-truths – and worse – are a legitimate 'encyclopedia.'"

Wales sent an email in response claiming, "I have never been a 'pornography trafficker' at all." Instead of posting a correction WND posted detailed documentation which includes a posed photo of Wales flanked by two mostly undressed female models.[16]

Some people start discussions on his user talk page much as supplicants approach a monarch. In response, he might engage in a discussion, promise "to look into it", or simply delete it.[17] However, the number of deletions and users banished from his talk page have increased in 2013.

In 2014, Wales received the "Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Award", which is named after the Vice President of the United Arab Emerates (UAE) and carries a $500,000 value. Many Wikipedia editors were troubled because of the poor record that the UAE has on human rights. In response, Wales said that he would use the money to establish his own private foundation to address human rights.[18][19]

References

  1. Interview with Jimmy Wales conducted by Brian Lamb, C-SPAN Transcript, September 25, 2005.
  2. Wikipedia and Beyond, Jimmy Wales' sprawling vision, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Reasononline.com, June 2007.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Davis, Jim. "Left in Control of Wikipedia", NewsMax, May 14, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-04. 
  4. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales&diff=238013334&oldid=366216764
  5. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/09/wikimedia_pron_purge/
  6. http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/12/69880
  7. Before Wikipedia: Search Bastard and 3Apes (December 23, 2014). Retrieved on December 24, 2014. Search Bastard existed from 2000 to 2006.
  8. Wikipedia Founder Edits Own Bio Wired. Accessed 17 March 2008
  9. Ruddick, Graham. "Wikipedia founder to float mobile phone company", The Telegraph, October 11, 2014. Retrieved on October 14, 2014. 
  10. User:Essjay/Letter. Retrieved from WikiTruth, November 3, 2007.
  11. Wikipedia Founder, Readers Respond to Seigenthaler Article, Jay DeFoore, Editor & Publisher, December 01, 2005.
  12. http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?showtopic=5641&st=60&p=22336&mode=linear#entry22336
  13. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Daniel_Brandt&diff=prev&oldid=55132392
  14. Wikipedia#Impugning critics, Conservapedia.com
  15. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0512/05/lol.02.html
  16. Here's Your Correction, Wikipedia Founder. WND (December 17, 2012). Retrieved on December 26, 2012.
  17. E.g., Speaking of "Unreadable Crap" (Dec. 5, 2005). Retrieved on Sept. 20, 2013.
  18. Orlowski, Andrew. "What's Jimmy Wales going to do with $500k from the UAE? He's gonna set up one of them darn foundations, of course...", The Register, December 22, 2014. Retrieved on December 22, 2014. 
  19. "Broken promises of Jimmy Wales", Examiner, December 26, 2014. Retrieved on December 27, 2014. 

External links