http://sickthought.livejournal.com/127677.html — here's a machine translation in case your Russian is a bit rusty.

Original magazine article: http://www.computerra.ru/magazine/333677/ — machine translation of magazine article "Spies in Wikipedia" (tell it like it is, comrade)

Later (2007-10-13): translation available

I am baffled over what type of error in the translation algorithm yields this from one of the comments:



I assume "small chess known media" means MSM, but I can't see how you get there from here.

Very entertaining. "Stroynaya Deva," the "most abusing authority administrator." "Reaction puncture," indeed.

Probably some idiom. This appears to be the expression in question:


Will ask around …

Jonny

Gosh that hurt my head. Are you sure that's the best possible translation? I guess Russian is hard to translate accurately, so it will do.

Anyway Russians tend not to like Wikipedia much. I believe that many Russian variants have had their own Wikipedia language shut down. Belarussian Wikipedia is shut down now I think. So they would be amongst Wikipedia's greatest critics, language wise. Perhaps all Russians hate Wikipedia? I am not sure.

Funny, but "мало-маль с к и" gives "small boys to and from" — maybe "peer-to-peer"?

Jonny

Babelfish translates

"мало-мальски известных СМИ!"

as

"the more or less known TO THE MEDIA!"

Jonny

If we can find someone to do a competent translation, then we could ask the magazine for reposting permission on the WR blog. Or not ask — I doubt if they care much, once we get our own translation. If they want payment, I'll let them deduct the cost of a song track from my mp3skyline.com account in Russia, which would be twenty cents.

Then they may well like us. We got mentioned in the article twice. I think from now on, I will refer to our favorite abusive admin as "Stroynaya Deva". I like the Russian version better.

Uh, I don't know where you're getting this from. Belarussian WP definitely still exists. Possibly you're thinking of the "Siberian language" WP; there's a vote in progress to shut that down on the grounds that it's not a real language.

I sent an email to the magazine (it looks like a fairly prominent computer magazine in Russia). I asked for permission to post an English version on wikipedia-watch.org and offered to PayPal $50 USD if they know someone who can translate it for me. So I guess it makes sense to wait and see if they respond. If I end up posting it, I'll be sure to hotlink the WR references in the article.

I look forwarded to the translation, thanks for initiating that Daniel.

Something that may be interesting to watch is the discussion they are having on this article, although it seems that it may be veering off topic, and usually that is ok, except trying to wade through a machine translated, off topic message board thread is starting to feel like I am on a acid trip. Here is a sample of the hard hitting criticism:


Couldn't have said it better myself.

известных, in the Roman aphabet is "Izvestia," usually translated "News."

Like the old joke, "There is no Truth in the News and no News in the Truth" (No Pravda in Investia and no Izvestia in Pravda").

translation available

What I like best about the article is it correctly describing De Braeckeleer as an expert investigating Lockerbie. Also it makes clear that De Braeckeleer first detected bias in Lockerbie articles on WP, then identified SlimVirgin as the sources and only then uncovered the relationship between SlimVirgin and Linda Mack's intelligence history. This is completely missing in Wale's dismissive criticism of De Braeckeleer as some irresponsible and ill-informed poster to a Web 2.0 news blog.

I could have lived without the broad brush conspiratorial ideation expressed in the last couple of paragraphs. Although I guess doing so makes more sense when a person from another country is writing to an audience that might not be familiar with these well worn conspiracies, pop culture standbys, and mythological motifs.