Fun with Wikipedia

Yesterday, we altered parts of the Amherst College Wikipedia entry as a part of the blogonomics class. The changes still stand, 24 hours later. I have made other small changes to misc. pages in the past, but these changes have lasted the longest.

Wikipedia: Amherst College

Sam Dreeben added a line to the "Origins of the name" section. "'Amherst' is pronounced with a hard "h" - AmHerst."

I added a paragraph at the end of the athletics section that mentions a "time-honored tradition" of losing to Williams College. Also, I deleted the two astronauts listed as alumni, and replaced them with Buzz Lightyear.

None of these changes had been corrected 24 hours after the change, but today i was pleased to see that someone had deleted the "Astronaut" section altogether, citing the reason that the content was an "obvious fabrication."

So, the net result is that i have lost a bit of respect for Wikipedia. The site clearly does not have the capability to regulate recent posts and to correct deliberately false info. The altered entry has been accessible to millions of people around the world in the incorrect state, and it is fun to think of how many people learned the true pronounciation and athletic prowess of the college in the past day.