Hi friends, I noticed this yesterday on page 16 of Pune Mirror which deals with Sci-Tech articles. Its given as reported from New York and it appears to be a syndicated reprint. No news agency or author or date is indicated. Pune Mirror is a tabloid, junk sold alongside its respectable elder sister Times of India, so no surprise that it provides complete misinformation.
Warm regards, Ashwin Baindur ------------------------------------------------------ On Sun, Apr 24, 2011 at 7:04 PM, CherianTinu Abraham <tinucher...@gmail.com>wrote: > Interestingly a slightly negative story on Wikipedia in India after a long > time. > > There's some pretty impressive mistakes and assertions in this article > (copied below), in particular: > * "Many of us have also been tricked by faulty or falsified information on > Wikipedia, which is edited by users who are often tempted into leading > others astray." > * "Originally, Wikipedia allowed anyone to update its entries" ... "In > 2009, it was forced to recruit 20,000 editors to stop falsification of > entries." > > *Pune Mirror : " Will Google Maps lead people astray, the Wikipedia way?"* > > http://www.punemirror.in/article/26/20110423201104240122415581039affe/Will-Google-Maps-lead-people-astray-the-Wikipedia-way.html > > *With the launch of the new Map Maker application in the US, Google Maps > can be edited by anybody, putting a question mark on the reliability of its > content* > * > * > *New York: Almost all of us have been tricked by a faulty GPS into taking > a wrong turn, driving down a dead end road, in extreme cases even driving > into rivers or to the edge of cliffs. Many of us have also been tricked by > faulty or falsified information on Wikipedia, which is edited by users who > are often tempted into leading others astray. * > * > * > *Now, Google is set to combine both dangers into one with the launch of > Map Maker in the US, reports Daily Mail. Map Maker is a web-based > application that allows users to edit Google Maps using their own local > knowledge of an area. It takes advantage of crowd-sourcing to map the parts > * > *of the world that even Google can’t get to. * > * > * > *Crowd outsourcing* > * > * > *“You know your neighbourhood or hometown best,” Google Map Maker tech > lead Lalitesh Katragadda and product manager Manik Gupta said in a blog > post. “With Google Map Maker, you can ensure the places you care about are > richly represented on the map. For example, you can fix the name of your > local pizza parlour, or add a description of your favourite book store.” * > * > * > *Users are also encouraged to add bike lanes, walking paths, secret > shortcuts, parking lots, and any other details they can think of using Map > Maker. * > * > * > * > * > *The suggestions are set to be reviewed before being published. “After > approval, the edits will appear in Google Maps within minutes — dramatically > speeding up the time it takes for online maps to reflect the often-changing > physical world,” the blog post read.* > * > * > *Wikipedia controversies* > * > * > *Originally, Wikipedia allowed anyone to update its entries. But a series > of malicious incidents — including changes to George W Bush’s page that saw > it having to be corrected an incredible 40,000 times, and an entry giving > former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s middle name as ‘Whoop de doo’ — > soon forced the site to rethink its policy.In 2009, it was forced to recruit > 20,000 editors to stop falsification of entries. * > * > * > *Review of changes* > * > * > *Map Maker, perhaps learning from that lesson, is set to review changes > before they are published. How exactly the changes will be reviewed, > however, remains largely undefined. When MailOnline tested the app, changes > appeared to be subject to review by other users.* > * > * > *It was not clear how many users were needed to approve or deny a change > before it was published, but Google promises that changes will appear > ‘within minutes’. A request for more detail on the vetting process has not > yet been answered. * > * > * > *Already up and running* > * > * > *Map Maker is already running in 183 countries around the world. Despite > concerns, it is being hailed as a cartographical revolution, allowing some > of the world’s remotest places to be mapped in a medium available to the > masses for the very first time. * > * > * > *It also allows for a level of detail — for example, of college campuses — > that simply would not be available on conventional maps. “Map Maker users > have mapped entire cities, road networks and universities that were never > previously recorded online,” the blog post bragged.* > * > * > *“These contributions have been incorporated into Google Maps and Google > Earth, so the collective expertise of the Map Maker community benefits the > millions of people using these products globally.”* > *Those who have Google Earth can also watch mapping in real time by others > around the world using the application. * > > > Regards > Tinu Cherian > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-IN-PUN mailing list > wikimedia-in-...@lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-in-pun > >
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