I haven't seen this covered much here, but in the aftermath of Jimbo calling tech columnist Seth Finkelstein "an idiot" and banning him from his inner list for asking questions, Jason Calacanis, founder of the Web Search Mahalo (whose launch was far superior that of the dismal WikiaSearch), has gone out and said this (see comments):


What's the matter with Wales these days?

Wales also told anyone who wanted to listen, "I really don't care what negative people and FUD mongers think".

Negative pressure on Wikipedia is mounting, and Jimbo's so used to everyone saying how awesome Wikipedia is that he's not used to this. Most of the time the only people who are interested in Wikipedia are those who are praising it or those who work on it, whom he has always been "in charge" of.

It's the inability to handle adversity that makes him unfit for his "traditional" role in WP. He still is the face of WP, its community, and the Foundation, and while his pissy, spoiled bratty attitude combined with his elevated position has often caused problems within the project, its now causing more and more trouble for them in the Outside World as Wikipedia gets more negative attention.

I think Wales can expect less adoring comments and a harder more stern approach from many quarters as he moves his priority from a flawed but arguably benevolent project, toward a money making project while still expecting an endless flow of volunteer contribs. Wikia Search is likely to be panned as a complete flop. Wikia's whole business model looks shaky. It is probably not a good time for the Sole Flounder to snap at anyone not spouting sycophantic love vibes.

Without wishing to boost your ego, Miltopia, if I was to pin-point a single moment that represented the tipping point -- the grid reference where the graph started to point downwards for WP -- it was Wales's unilateral banning of yourself last October!

A small, insignificant moment in history it may have seemed, but it represented Wales losing control of himself and the site. Recall that Wales had introduced his "shoot to kill" policy at that time, an obvious mistake and a signifier of problems to come.

Here's my post from that time:

"This is heading for an anarchy", The endgame approaches

http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?showtopic=13507

Since then, we've seen chaos, scandals and revelations at the core of WP, damaging leaks, a disastrous launch of Wikia Search slammed by the media, a growing sense even among hardliners that they've all been ripped off, Wiki-Cultists committing hari-kari, and Wales himself looking to the world like a cross between Louis XIV and David Koresh.

It is also hard to over-state how much damage The Wikia Search will cause Wikipedia itself. It is like that moment in The Wizard Of Oz, when the curtain gets pulled away and we see a pathetic little man pulling some cranks and levers. Or that episode of The Simpsons when it is revealed that the cult leader controlling Springfield was just some guy on a bicycle using a comb and a sheet of paper to make a spooky noise.

It was quite some experience to witness the rise and then beginning of the fall, and especially that turning point last year. But in years to come, when responsible practices are the norm on major websites, and people inevitably hark back to the Wikipedia era as a Wild West free-for-all with some nostalgia, don't anybody be fooled by false memory.

It was crap. You were ripped off. And 1000s of people were defamed, 1000s of educators were put under needless pressure, 1000s of good faith volunteers had their time wasted for no reason, 1000s of academic topics were disfigured for years and on and on. All to serve the hubris of a little ex-pornographer in Florida who wanted to make a mint.

By stoking up this whole mess, Wales became the biggest "troll" the internet has ever seen. And we've all been had. At least now, people are acknowledging it.

A very interesting point... It's seemed to me during the last few months that Jimbo has been really counting on this one, more than the previous Wikia sites that got lots of press coverage for a few days and then disappeared. Almost as though he sees it as his best, maybe only, chance to finally cash in. By that perspective, it's almost understandable that he'd become more irritable and aggressive towards those he deems "boring" or not otherwise in line with his goals.

I remember a video interview I saw on Odeo.com, which he did a few months ago alongside Craig Newmark (the founder of Craigslist), in which he seemed unusually eager to make the point that the Wikipedia free-content model was a Good Thing specifically because you can "fork" it. It was almost as if he knew Wikipedia was eventualy going to fracture into multiple communities and multiple sites, and he wanted to be sure he was well-postitioned for it. I should try to find the link for that...

The impression I'm getting is that Jimbo can't really understand why people "don't get it" - after all, Search Wikia is still basically a wiki, so of course it isn't going to be impressive initially. That only happens after lots of unpaid volunteer contributors put in lots and lots of free hours to make it that way. So why can't the media see that too? Why doesn't the media help him, by just telling everyone to put in all those free hours, because the reward will be... uh, whatever the reward is? What's wrong with them?

This initial "alpha rollout" period could conceivably be the make-or-break point for him, before the site's inevitable quick slide into obscurity and disuse. It's going to be an interesting few days!

Cranks and Levers

I'm waiting to learn if WR earns an Archimedean reputation as a bunch of cranks engaged in a leveraged pry-out.

JIMMY WALES is the Kennth Lay/Jeff Skilling of the internet information sites.

Jimbo has failed miserably on the privacy issue, both at Wikipedia and at Wikia Search.

At Wikipedia he pretends he can have it both ways — tell users that they will be anonymous if they log in, and then hand over IP addresses when someone's lawyer calls. (Never mind the fact that there shouldn't be any privacy for those who edit biographies of living people without the subject's consent, as that's an argument outside the scope of this post.)

At Wikia Search, the "Privacy" button refers you to the login screen. After you log in, it's all about clicking on various options concerning who can see what items in your profile — everyone, only your friends, etc.

What about the privacy of users not logged in? Does that two-year cookie that appears to have a unique ID in it mean that Wikia Search is tracking users' search terms? I haven't found any information about this on the site.

Meanwhile, the media is starting to realize that Gen Y has been irresponsible on the privacy issue. The Nation magazine has an article about how Gen Y is blowing it with Facebook. This is significant because in my experience, the politically-correct, mainstream, official "liberal" opposition is consistently between five to ten years behind on what's happening with the Internet. If The Nation is starting to see that all is not well with Web 2.0, can Time magazine be far behind?

Lawyers? What lawyers? Raul654's block notice j'accuses me of high crimes and misdemeanors to anyone and everyone who tries to edit from Anon IP's in my entire dialup area.

Jon Awbrey

Dare I introduce a conspiracy theory?

So Jimbo launches Wikia whenever. Wikia, implictly, is designed to be a profitable venture that uses the same licensing as Wikipedia - it can even use Wikipedia content, which is convenient.

Of course, then the Essjay thing comes down, people are less enamoured with Wikipedia, and people start noticing content getting shuffled over to Wikia. The accusations rain down - many of which are at worst unconsciously true - that Wikia exists to take good Wikipedia content and spin it for a profit, and Jimbo justifiably gets upset, since that goes against the nature of Wikipedia being at best a charitable venture.

I'd like to believe that the intent was not this, even if the result was. God knows the intent of Wikipedia was not what it has ultimately become. Jimbo's cornered himself, though - if he cops to what many people are suspicious of, he'll lose even more contributors (and I'm sure he's at least privately concerned about that), but if he lets the comments go without response - either via attack or otherwise - he's considered complacent.

I believe that Wikia, Inc. is in violation of California law. More info here and here.

The personal information collected is obvious from the login requirements, where a real name and email verification is requested. But California's broad definition might even include one's IP address.

The info sharing from Wikia's ad feeds on the main Wikia site (and apparently soon to be on the Wikia Search site) constitutes third-party information sharing, because the third party gets your IP address in order to serve the ad, and perhaps the content of the page where the ad appears (AdSense), and also has the opportunity to plant its own cookie (DoubleClick, etc.)

Good point, Daniel. Also I recently registered a Wikia Search account to see what information is collected. I believe they have a COPPA problem too. They have no provision for obtaining parental approval/consent or complying with any other provision of the law. I believe that the only thing that got them by on WP was that they were not a commercial site (although this could be debated.) Clearly Wikia Search is commercial. It collect information, all wikis collect information, they allow profile ("collection of information" does not have to be required to trigger COPPA but may be "optional") a huge amount of the content that Wikia Search will be "directed at children."

Any California residents reading this may want to send a letter to Wikia. Here we go again, it's black hole time.

1) Is there a postal address for Wikia, Inc. anywhere?
2) Who handles their legal work? Do they have a general counsel?
3) Is Wikia, Inc. incorporated in California? Who is the registered agent?

Don't bother emailing anyone on the Wikia contact list. I tried emailing Penchina, Beesley, and their PR person one year ago to ask them about Essjay. No one replied. You'd better send a letter, and get a return receipt.

By the way, I just noticed that Chris Sherman, who works with search-engine expert Danny Sullivan, also complained about the lack of a Wikia privacy policy in his January 7 review of Wikia Search.

This might help; it appears to be current as of October 2007. From the domain registration:

Administrative Contact:
Davis, Michael domains@wikia.com
Wikia, Inc.
60 E. 3rd Ave.
Suite 210
San Mateo, California 94401
United States
6505480400

There's also this convenient and presumably effective site:

http://ftc.gov/ftc/cmplanding.shtm

Probably not the appropriate form for a violation of California law but it looks right for bringing Wikia Search's COPPA issues to the FTC's attention.

I believe GlassBeadGame is correct. I found this blurb on the web:

"The State of California has enacted the first law in the country that requires web sites that collect any personal information from consumers to post a privacy policy. The new law will take effect on July 1, 2004. While federal law requires the posting of a privacy policy for specific categories of information, such as information collected from children, there is no general requirement that a web site must maintain or disclose a privacy policy. This latest privacy standard, in effect, raises the bar nationally, given the importance of California in the overall U.S. economy."