Before we get into this (and this is a guiltily delicious journey you may or may not decide to take), please consider what level of perfection you expect your Web icons—even the ones who refer to themselves as "UPDATE: It occurs to me later, upon further thinking, that Rachel Marsden, based on her history isn't the most credible source in this case. First red flag that popped up that didn't make into the original narrative: who saves tawdry IM conversations like that? First rule of wicked affairs: don't record anything. So take Marsden's "proof" with a grain of salt, she's been called crazy more than once.
Wikipedia didn't like Sam Vaknin (which was said as a sarcastic jab at Vaknin in defense of Wikipedia). I tried to smooth it over, even apologized for being a poor communicator, and asked for clarification that never came (neither did any subsequent requested interviews).Can't blame him. There are better-looking TV pundits to talk to about it anyway. I'm used to being told no. Rachel Marsden, it would seem, is not used to such a thing.
Okay, enough melodramatic introduction; let's get you caught up in case you've missed it. (Surprisingly, the US media hasn't picked up on this much, not when compared to UK, Canadian, and Australian outlets—not that it should distract from Presidential primaries or Britney Spears coverage, either.)
James Jimmy "Jimbo" Wales, founder of Wikipedia, leader of a small, cultish band of editors as well as an entire open Internet movement, self-avowed "Objectivist to the core," and chafe in the craw of elitist academes everywhere, flat-out goofed. The kindest way to put it is that there was a series of unfortunate judgments, none of which was made in isolation from inside his cranium. That is to say, if it's all true, Little Jimbo ran this fiasco right off the cliff.
And whose interesting response on Wikipedia, now moved to his blog, to rumors of an inappropriate relationship with former Fox News pundit by the name of Rachel Marsden, also known as "the Canadian Ann Coulter." If you haven't heard of her (I hadn't), her sketchy past is detailed on her Wikipedia page, which is a large part of this controversy. Dave Winer characterized it as
By "gossip websites," he means over $12,000) while claiming he broke up with her "via an announcement on Wikipedia," but also released some lewd (and somewhat incriminating)
Your first objection, rightly, is wondering what Jimbo Wales's sex life has to do with anything. Well, it doesn't, especially, until it looks like, according to those salacious IM conversations, that Wales gave her a hand cleaning up Did he not trust his own creation, or did Little Jimbo effectively slap on the blinders? Were the blinders that effective at blocking out the giant red flags? (Or Scarlet Letter, whichever you prefer.) None of that matters, I guess, even if it gives some insight into the man's judgment and weaknesses. We're not supposed to hold those things against Bill Clinton, either, right? Sometimes otherwise brilliant men have questionable taste in exploits. Fine, we can deal with that, and any honest man would say that (as sexist a double standard as it is) that sometimes men do dumb things. But here are the bigger matters: 1. Wales, who has been our champion of integrity when it comes to his community-edited online encyclopedia, lobbied his editors to clean up Marsden's profile while having a steamy affair with Marsden, and seems to have lied about that relationship just before the proverbial caca hit the fan. I thought there might be more "bigger matters," but that's pretty much it. When you set yourself up on a pedestal, you have to be very careful of missteps at the edge of it. Wales built his community around trust and transparency. He may have to be transparent (and therefore vulnerable) to his community and trust that they'll forgive him. I think they will, and in a few months or weeks or days will forget all about it. Until then, I imagine it's pretty hot under Jimbo's collar.
If you ever saw the movie "
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