US Senate IP address linked to Snowden Wikipedia change from "dissident" to "traitor"

Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.

Interesting use of the word “we”

2 Likes

Despite popular opinion, The Senate is part of the government. It’s pretty interesting information, even if it’s moderately vague due to the available information.

not really, no.

who cares.

people in government have every right to have an opinion the cool kids don’t like just as much as any other person.

1 Like

“Government employees editorializing entries isn’t uncommon. In fact, there’s an entire Wikipedia entry devoted to the subject. But editorializing by editors using government IP addresses rarely goes unnoticed.”

Are government employees editing that article?

Your analogy is terrible. Congress are the “cool kids” and this is more an attempt at anti-bullying.

2 Likes

It’s not an analogy at all. It’s what is happening.

What ever the “cool kids” high school drama analogy you wish to bring to the situation, “traitor” does not belong in the Wikipedia page. There is significant disagreement over whether such a word applies. If Snowden were convicted of treason it would have more support. Still, the point of Wikipedia is not for it to serve as a venue for cool kids to air their opinions and shut down the opinions non-cool kids (which I agree is an awful analogy for a lot of reasons). It strives to maintain a neutral tone, and… act as an online encyclopedia.

No one is saying that people in government don’t have a right to an opinion. It is just that obviously, an encyclopedia should not be the forum for expressing personal opinions. Is there something you find objectionable about this?

1 Like

Uh, I guess - but you know, they also have laws, constituents, ethical obligations…

No one is saying that people in government don’t have a right to an opinion.

The obvious implication here is that The Government (cue scary music) is trying tarnish Snowden’s good name, and, that it’s awesome that we (for some values of ‘we’) can track this down and hopefully identify this person who dared express the wrong opinion about him. And that’s bullshit.

Wiki and its neutral tone will get along just fine without this kind of thought policing. “Traitor” is obviously a charged word, and in this case, it’s legally questionable. But it’s exactly the kind of thing that Wiki editors would have silently corrected, as they do for thousands of pages every day, without needing anyone to broadcast the offender’s IP info.

And what do you think will happen if the person who put “traitor” in there is ever identified - will the attention have a positive effect on his/her life? And for what - for having the temerity to express an opinion that’s unpopular with a segment of anonymous technophiles?

I mean look, on this very thread, DueceDaily is posting phone numbers. Phone numbers! For someone who might have had the wrong opinion on Wiki, or who might work in the same office, or maybe not. Doesn’t matter, burn the witch! Anonymity for me, not for those who disagree. Awesome. Just fucking awesome.

Ok then take the analogy part out. You still have it backwards. Congress are still the “cool kids” and this is anti-bullying. Cute try though.

“Ermagerd! He’s posting phone numbers!”

Um, you must not have read the post… I deliberately left any specific information out. Again cute try though.

Let me help you understand this. People are not upset because other people are expressing their opinions. People are upset because this clearly points to political climate that will prevent this man from ever getting a fair trial.

Edit: Also, thinking about your response, I feel I should clarify for the lowest common denominator. The congressional page I spoke of has nothing to do with this other than being a link to the office she worked for. If you look at the records she clearly doesn’t even work in DC anymore.

Quick someone alert Harry Reid! The Senate servers have been hacked.

1 Like

This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.