[wikipedia]

An example of why I discourage students from using wikipedia:

"The Essjay controversy occurred after a prominent English Wikipedia editor and administrator — briefly a Wikia employee — known by the name
"Essjay" "forged his credentials and faked having a doctorate."

NEW YORK: In a blink, the wisdom of the crowd became the fury of the crowd.

In the past few days, contributors to Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia, have turned against one of their own who was found to have created an elaborate false identity.

Under the name Essjay, the contributor edited thousands of Wikipedia entries and once was one of the few people with the authority to deal with vandalism and to arbitrate disputes between authors.

To the Wikipedia world, Essjay was a tenured professor of religion at a private university with expertise in canon law, according to his user profile.

But in fact, Essjay is a 24-year-old named Ryan Jordan, who attended a number of colleges in Kentucky and who lives outside Louisville.

Jordan contended that he resorted to a fictional persona to protect himself from people who might be angered by his administrative role at Wikipedia. He did not respond to an e-mail message, nor to messages conveyed by the Wikipedia office.

Read the rest of the article here.

Further info available at wikipedia too.

Thanks to Angela for the head's up.