hi all,
you might be interested in this article.
cheers,
joe
A Sydney software engineer has been embroiled in a controversy in which Microsoft stands accused of trying to use him as a paid proxy to finesse entries on the Wikipedia site. Doug Mahugh, Microsoft "technical evangelist", emailed the engineer, Rick Jelliffe, on Monday, hoping to use Mr Jelliffe's expertise to modify a number of technical articles in the online encyclopedia. Mr Jelliffe holds an economics degree from the University of Sydney and is chief technical officer at Topologi, a Pyrmont software company. But the Microsoft approach has been interpreted as an attempt to disguise its hand in the editing process. Wikipedia allows anyone to add to and modify articles, and relies on volunteer moderators to correct inaccuracies. But Microsoft has rejected suggestions it was being sneaky or underhanded by approaching Mr Jelliffe. In the email to Mr Jelliffe, which Mr Mahugh has since published online, Mr Jelliffe was asked if he would be interested in correcting "errors" and "slanted language" found in Wikipedia entries relating to rival computer software standards, one of which was developed by Microsoft. The email encouraged Mr Jelliffe to disclose his deal with Microsoft in his blog, and reassured him that Microsoft did not have to approve any of the Wikipedia edits before they were made. Mr Jelliffe's disclosure of the offer on his blog sparked a flurry of criticism. He denied he was pro-Microsoft. "Full disclosure was part of the deal! I wouldn't have been interested otherwise," he wrote. Mr Jelliffe has refused to add to his published comments. A Microsoft spokeswoman, Catherine Brooker, said no money had changed hands, but did not say whether the contract had been withdrawn.
source http://www.theage.com.au/news/biztech/microsoft-makes-hard-call-for-input/20...
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