Comments on: David Boothroyd in Wikipedia sockpuppeting brouhaha

By: Gregory Kohs

Gregory Kohs — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:27:34 +0000

While the Wikipedia drones have swarmed in to “protect their own” and have deleted David Boothroyd’s encyclopedia article, they seem to forget that it was released to the public under the terms of the GFDL open license. Therefore, the article is bound to show up somewhere else on the Internet.

Indeed, it already has:

http://www.mywikibiz.com/Directory:David_Boothroyd

By: Basil

Basil — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:18:07 +0000

Now the wikipediots over at Wikipedia HQ are fighting over whether DB is notable enough to have an article about him http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Deletion_review&oldid=290421679
One editor has already been blocked as the drama ensues.

By: Biscit

Biscit — Wed, 27 May 2009 11:34:19 +0000

Sorry Mark W, I wasn’t downgrading the story, I was pre-empting the usual nuts who write the whiny “haven’t you got anything better to do” messages.

By: James Graham

James Graham — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:53:54 +0000

May I be the first to congratulate David in his new role as the Oxford Professor of Poetry?

By: Jonathan Calder

Jonathan Calder — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:45:19 +0000

I am not gloating at all. Dear me, no.

By: LibCync

LibCync — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:12:12 +0000

Ah, uk.politics.electoral, I also “fondly” remember DB from there. I know schadenfreude is wrong but…

By: Mark Wright

Mark Wright — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:00:10 +0000

Actually this isnt just trivia. I dont expect he was officially sanctioned by the Labour Party, but if political activists are working themselves into admin positions in organisations like Wikipedia, in order to support their party by deceptive methods, then this is much more than trivia…

By: Biscit

Biscit — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:53:54 +0000

Also, nothing wrong in having a giggle at trivia in amongst weightier stories.

By: Biscit

Biscit — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:50:39 +0000

Ah yes Nigel, I remember him.

Nothing wrong with being a stats nerd, but he did get over excited when anyone mentioned a swing to/from the lib dems.

By: Nigel Ashton

Nigel Ashton — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:38:01 +0000

I first came across David Boothroyd on the Usenet newsgroup uk.polics.electoral in 1995. He had the absurd belief that the concept of swing could only apply to vote changes between Conservative and Labour candidates.

By: Mark Wright

Mark Wright — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:30:41 +0000

I’ve always been amazed that DB has enough time to post all he does in various places under his real names. The fact that he was also posting even more under hidden names is amazing! LOL…