Travis P. Brown

I love Wikipedia. Barely a day passes without looking something up, or even doing some mindless browsing. So I was definitely intrigued by EA’s recent attempt to alter its history on their Wikipedia entry. Of the multiple edits, EA has attempted to removed any reference to Trip Hawkins and erase all criticisms of the company.

Now, I know your first question. “Why isn’t he posting this on his game blog?” Well the truth is, this little piece of news was found out using a new tool that resolves anonymous Wikipedia editors’ IP addresses to company names. It has a much bigger social and political impact than just video games, so I posted it here. It’s a tool created by Cal Tech graduate Virgil Griffith, and hosted at Shacknews. The tool has uncovered all sorts of Wikipedia edits that range anywhere from hilarious to concerning. Most amusing I found, was Disney’s attempt to erase DRM criticisms, the MLBPA’s attempt to quiet drug testing controversies, and even someone at Fox News trying to rename the movie “The Incredibles” to “The Stupids”. What I find most interesting about some of these edits is the juvenile nature of people when they think they are completely anonymous. Apparently someone at the MLB goes “crazy for boobs”.

Now I understand that the majority of edits are not official corporate communication, and that most likely it is just a zealous employee trying to push the ideals of his employer. But what people write when they think they can’t be traced is definitely amusing. If you have some time, check out the rated list here.

Also, in case you are wondering, the Quantum Leap reference was shamelessly inspired by Joystiq’s coverage of the EA fiasco. What can I say, the allusion fit too well to ignore.