Jimmy Wales

Jimmy Wales (born 1966; popularly known as 'Jimbo') is an entrepreneur best known for co-founding the free on-line encyclopedia Wikipedia with Larry Sanger; today, Wales is the de facto head of the website and is regularly described in the media as a highly influential figure. He is the co-founder of Wikia, a web hosting service, and also started Nupedia, a precursor to Wikipedia.

Wales has argued that some features that distinguish Wikipedia from Citizendium - for example, the possibility of contributing to Wikipedia anonymously - will not lead to a better, more reliable encyclopedia. In August 2007 he was reported as saying "I think there's basically zero problems that can be solved by eliminating anonymity." This was after the 'Essjay scandal', in which an anonymous contributor was found to have faked credentials on Wikipedia. Wales had initially defended 'Essjay' (Ryan Jordan) and supported Jordan's position as a salaried employee within Wikia, but withdrew support when he learned how Jordan had used false qualifications to further himself in disputes over article content. Wales also argues against the idea of a central role for accredited experts within Wikipedia; when a hypothetical scenario of an adolescent changing the contribution of a professor of some 40 years' experience was put to him in 2008, Wales replied: "it often happens that the 17-year-old is right, and the professor is wrong." In 2003, Wales had declined to take up Sanger's recommendation that Wikipedia needed a role for experts.

Other controversies involving Jimmy Wales include his claim to be the sole founder of Wikipedia and the manner in which he is reported to have ended his relationship with conservative journalist Rachel Marsden.

See also

• Wikipedia
• Wikia
• Nupedia
• Larry Sanger