Wikipedia Founder Admits Serious Quality Problems

This is a good piece from the UK tech site The Register in which Jimmy Wales, the founder of the Wikipedia, admits that there is plenty of garbage in the user-made encyclopedia. Apparently (and, I guess, predictably) the entries about controversial figures (e.g. Bill Gates, Jane Fonda) have degenerated into unreadable political slugfests. The article, unfortunately, does not suggest any solutions. For solutions (and other good ideas, and some garbage too) check this Slashdot thread.

I took at look at the Bill Gates article (linked above) after finishing this post-- it seems fairly concise and reasonable as of this writing (although it did not choose flattering pictures). It looks like wikipedia is taking action; the entry has a special note that says "This topic is considered a necessary subject on Wikipedia, and there is a high-priority on its being cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality." The Jane Fonda entry has the same warning and seems to be a reasonable account.