Here is the link:

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060731fa_fact

It still works for me but if for some reason it doesn't work for you,
contact me off list and I'll provide you with the article itself.
Highly recommended.

Best,

-Chris

>
> Date:    Thu, 3 Aug 2006 22:20:23 -0500
> From:    "Hilliard, Mary" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: OT : Wikipedia Redux
>
> New Yorker Magazine, July 31, 2006 (unfortunately, no longer available
> online), has an interesting article in the Annals of Information section
> titled "Know it All - Wikipedia takes on the Experts" written by Stacy
> Schiff.
>
> The article begins with a subtitle "Can Wikipedia conquer expertise?"
> and goes one to provide a good history of the site and the founder Jimmy
> Wales, and many other additional facts which help to explain this
> phenomena.
>
> One of the interesting aspects of Wikipedia that is highlighted is an
> incident pertaining to an article on global warming and the political
> aspect of some of the editing that takes place.  "It can still seem as
> though the user who spends the most time on the site -- or who yells the
> loudest -- wins.  Connelly believes that Wikipedia "gives no privilege
> to those who know what they're talking about" a view that is echoed by
> many academics and former contributors, who argue that too many
> Wikipedians are fundamentally suspicious of experts and unjustly
> confident of their own opinions."
>
> Later in the article, the author states "For software, there is an
> objective standard; wither it works or it doesn't.  There is no such
> test for truth."
>
> And "Part of the problem is provenance.  The bulk of Wikipedia's content
> originates not in the stacks but on the Web, which offers up everything
> from breaking news, spin, and gossip to proof that the moon landings
> never took place."
>
> I could go on, but won't with some of the pithy thoughts and quotes from
> the article.  If you have a chance to pick up this copy of the New
> Yorker and are interested in the issue of how we get information and
> validate information in today's web wired world, then this article will
> provide lots of food for thought.
>
> I am sorry I was unable to find an online version of it, and if anyone
> else can, please provide the link in case anyone else thinks this is as
> interesting for us records managers as are other issues related to data
> integrity, provenance, etc.
>
> Mary Hilliard
>

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