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Wikipedia’s nonprofit status questioned by D.C. U.S. attorney

(www.washingtonpost.com)
923 points coloneltcb | 10 comments | 25 Apr 25 23:03 UTC | HN request time: 4.31s | source | bottom
1. aingling ◴[26 Apr 25 00:03 UTC] No.43799664[source]▶
It's an account created to avoid doxxing myself. My Wikipedia username is easily linked to my main HN account. I still rarely make minor Wikipedia edits now and then, and don't want my account banned.

Anyone who's edited Wikipedia long enough will recognize the pattern of what I'm describing. It's not a misrepresentation.

replies(1): >>43799769 #
2. jay_kyburz ◴[26 Apr 25 00:21 UTC] No.43799769[source]▶
I would really like to read some concrete examples.
replies(1): >>43799981 #
3. kurtreed2 ◴[26 Apr 25 00:58 UTC] No.43799981{3}[source]▶
As a start you can look at the following page.

https://www.reddit.com/r/WatchWikipediaDie/wiki/scandals

replies(2): >>43801437 #>>43807791 #
4. tomhow ◴[26 Apr 25 02:41 UTC] No.43800450[source]▶
We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43799635.

Please don't post insinuations about astroturfing, shilling, brigading, foreign agents, and the like. It degrades discussion and is usually mistaken. If you're worried about abuse, email hn@ycombinator.com and we'll look at the data.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

replies(1): >>43803946 #
5. jay_kyburz ◴[26 Apr 25 06:42 UTC] No.43801437{4}[source]▶
Thnaks.
replies(1): >>43808088 #
6. OgsyedIE ◴[26 Apr 25 14:29 UTC] No.43803946[source]▶
Noted, you can expect full compliance from me on that policy with regards any other detection positives in the future.
replies(1): >>43808436 #
7. joshuamorton ◴[26 Apr 25 22:29 UTC] No.43807791{4}[source]▶
I read through like half of those, and they generally paint a picture of Wikipedia acting well in regards to external controversy, or (mostly robustly) responding to manipulation attempts.
replies(1): >>43808063 #
8. kurtreed2 ◴[26 Apr 25 23:06 UTC] No.43808063{5}[source]▶
If you scroll down to the bottom of that page you'll see a different story.
9. kurtreed2 ◴[26 Apr 25 23:09 UTC] No.43808088{5}[source]▶
You're welcome.
10. dredmorbius ◴[27 Apr 25 00:29 UTC] No.43808436{3}[source]▶
NB: If you have substantiated concerns, the correct course is to email mods. They are responsive to this. <hn@ycombinator.com>

The problem with in-thread accusations isn't so much the lack of legitimacy but the deletrious effect on discussion quality, which is fragile at best:

On shilling generally: <https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&prefix=true&page=0&dateR...>

On HN's fragility: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23047709>