No self-edits on Wikipedia profiles: Fair or bummer?

Dave said Luke might need to take on a few more activities to fill out hiw Wikipedia page. (Image courtesy Wikipedia)

After reports that Newt Gingrich’s communications director has been changing (and trying to change) his candidate’s Wikipedia entries, 97.3 KIRO FM’s Ross and Burbank Show had a conversation debating the merit of Wikipedia rules that prevent you from editing pages about you.

Luke Burbank told co-host Dave Ross he found out about the policy the hard way after some less than flattering content appeared on his page.

“There were some internet people who just wanted to bring me down through any means that they possibly could,” said Burbank. “They went on my Wikipedia page, which I didn’t set up, or write, or have anything to do with, it’s just somebody wrote a few sentences about me, somebody else went there and added a bunch of stuff that was just made up.”

Burbank said he didn’t want people to get the wrong idea about him, so he contacted Wikipedia to see about making changes.

“The guy says, ‘How do you know this stuff isn’t true that’s written here?’ I said, ‘Well, because I’m the person it’s written about, and I would know.’ And he goes, ‘You’re the subject of the page? Stop looking at the page. Do not adjust the page. Do not amend the page. You are not allowed to even think about the page.”

Listen to No self-edits on Wikipedia profiles: Fair or bummer?

Burbank said he gets it. “It is supposed to be the place where all of us come to some sort of middle ground on the thing that’s being described.”

When asked if he agreed with the can’t-change-your-own-page policy, Dave Ross said, “Yes, of course.”

Ross said incorrect information on the page sometimes is a hint to him on who does their research.

“They had my birth date wrong for a long time,” said Ross. “It was good when it was wrong because I could figure out who really knew me and who was basing it on a Wikipedia entry.”

Ross said most of the content on his page today checks out, but they do have one of his career history dates wrong.

“This says I started work at WSB in Atlanta in 1974 and it was actually 1973.”

Luke pointed out the only way for Dave to make the change is to send that info out into the ether.

“You’ve got to hope that in talking about it on this show, somewhere out there in the hive mind, they will figure out that that’s wrong and then the universe of people that change things on Wikipedia will come in and change it.”

In looking at changes required on his page, Burbank notes, “It’s kind of skimpy.”

“Start doing more stuff,” said Ross.

“I’m trying!” said Burbank.

By JAMIE GRISWOLD, MyNorthwest.com Editor