Wikipedia needs flagged revisions, so that anonymous edits are approved by
someone who is actually committed to the idea of building an encyclopedia,
rather than to malice or lulz.
Here is an example: half the internet (and at least one book on haircare)
thinks that Erica Feldman or Ian Gutgold invented the hair straightener,
based on schoolkid vandalism in Wikipedia 6 years ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hair_iron&diff=prev&oldid…
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hair_iron&diff=next&oldid…
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hair_iron&diff=114547823&…
That vandalism is listed on
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_hoaxes_on_Wikipedia
and is also one of the top 5 trolls listed here
http://houseofgeekery.com/2012/02/13/toptroll/
---o0o---
*4) Erica Feldman*
I imagine writer Li Mei Rong wasn’t taught in school that Wikipedia isn’t
legitimate reference material, but she’d likely be well in the know now. In
2006, Erica Feldman and a classmate decided to place Erica’s name over
Madam C. J.Walker’s as the inventor of the hair straightener. Originating
on Wikipedia, it soon spread all over the internet, and into Li Mei Rong’s
book, that Erica Feldman was in fact the inventor of the straightening
iron. The hoax still lives on today, even after Wikipedia finally fixed it
two and a half years later. Just Google Erica Feldman, or “Who invented the
Hair Straightener?” and you’ll surely see the reach of this.
---o0o---
It is back in Wikipedia right now:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hair_iron&oldid=502211997
"It is generally acknowledged that Ian Gutgold was the first to experiment
with hard chemicals to straighten hair, but this often resulted in burnt
scalps."
Of course, it cites a source: a website that copied it from Wikipedia. (The
actual inventor of the hair straightener, before the Wikipedia vandalism,
was Madam C J Walker.)
Wikipedia is spreading lies as well as knowledge. With 4 million articles,
editors are stretched much too thinly to ensure quality control under the
present set-up.