The Signpost

In the media

WikiGnomes and Bigfoot

Grammar editing in the media spotlight

The WikiGnome

Andrew McMillen's February 3 profile of Giraffedata and his quest to rid Wikipedia of the phrase "comprised of" has been one of the most widely circulated and commented upon media stories about the encyclopedia recently. Giraffedata himself was recently interviewed (February 26) by the podcast Reply All about his work. The Boston Globe reported on (February 20) other WikiGnomes, focusing on the 400-strong Guild of Copy Editors. The Globe spoke with Miniapolis, Lead Coordinator of the Guild, DocWatson42, Fluffernutter, and Philg88. The Globe also discussed some notorious grammar-related conflicts on the encyclopedia, such as the long-running dispute between advocates of en-dashes and em-dashes and the resulting backlash from "hyphen luddites". G, S

Arrest reported in Wikipedia editing of Parsons article

Earlier this month, ITM reported on a Canadian government investigation into Wikipedia edits to the article Suicide of Rehtaeh Parsons from an IP address belonging to the Department of National Defence. Parsons' 2013 suicide at the age of 17, which her parents blame on Internet harassment following her alleged gang rape at 15 by four teenage boys, caused a nationwide outcry against cyberbullying. Two of the alleged assailants eventually pled guilty to charges of child pornography related to the distribution of a photo of Parsons. The Wikipedia edits appear to attempt to cast doubt on her alleged sexual assault and subsequent suicide. CBC News reports (February 26) that according to Parsons' father, Glen Canning, the father of one of those alleged assailants was arrested for making those Wikipedia edits from a computer at CFB Shearwater. The Department of National Defence confirmed that an unidentified man was arrested and released but refused to confirm a connection to the Parsons case. G

In brief

Bigfoot, not found in Apex, North Carolina nor anywhere else

















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