Anyone Can Change Wikipedia, Can’t They?

It’s true that anyone with a laptop and an internet connection can edit most Wikipedia pages. But that doesn’t mean the edits survive. If someone hasn’t registered with Wikipedia, chances are that person’s edits will be apprehended by tireless bots on the hunt for unfamiliar IP addresses. Plus, there’s a whole category of “protected pages.” They are often Wikipedia’s most trafficked and most controversial pages, the ones that enflame passions and bring out the worst human tendencies (entries like “Barack Obama,” “Donald Trump,” “Gamergate,” and “Causes of transsexuality,” to name some of the most recognizable entries, but also the “Coat of arms of Lithuania”—go figure). If you consult these articles, you’ll see some features you might not have noticed before. See that teeny lock to the right of “Donald Trump”? That tells you the page is protected. Also, did you notice that the “Edit” tab (which usually appears after the “Read” tab) has gone AWOL? Unless you already have Wikipedia editing privileges, you won’t be able to lay your hands on these pages.

Figure 7.1 Wikipedia article on Donald Trump showing lock icon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump)

The system of locks is another way that Wikipedia has erected guardrails that prevent newbies, trolls, and just plain goofballs from making drive-by edits.[9] As Wikipedia maven Jake Orlowitz notes, it’s no big deal to say “I changed Wikipedia.” The real mark of achievement is “being able to say I made an edit to Wikipedia—and it stuck.”[10]