EA staffer plays history revisionist on Wikipedia

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 16th 2007 at 12:55PM }

We already know that EA changes its screenshots, but is somebody trying to rewrite its history? Shacknews reports somebody with an IP address linked to the Electronic Arts Redwood City HQ is going into the EA Wikipedia page and altering the past. Using a tool called Wikipedia Scanner made by Cal Tech student Virgil Griffith, they discovered this IP address has made numerous alterations, the most damning occurred on Nov. 20, '06 when they erased Trip Hawkins as founder of the company. Later on, the same IP address added a paragraph emphasizing the work of Larry Probst, current EA chairman, and attempted to remove the scandalous EA Spouse saga.

Shacknews concludes saying that the IP address is responsible for one third of the 1,351 changes made by EA-registered IPs. Many of the changes made by the EA IPs have since been reversed by the Wikipedia community. EA would not comment on the issue. Maybe this person at EA is just striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that their next leap ... will be the leap home -- if those pesky Wikipedia people would just stop changing history back to the way it originally happened.

Tags: ea, history, revision, shacknews, wikipedia

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Zsavior @ Aug 16th 2007 1:00PM

Quantum Leap Owned! LOL Now Dr Sam Becket must Leap back and Assassinate everybody and anybody who put money into EA to save the future. Or At least to put a smile on my face.

hvnlysoldr @ Aug 16th 2007 1:04PM

Not if the T-1000 stops him first in order to ensure Skynet I mean EA Nation to control the world.

James @ Aug 16th 2007 1:02PM

hmm. I wikipedia is the name dictionary

hvnlysoldr @ Aug 16th 2007 1:04PM

1. Wikipedia troll from EA
2. Trolls hate pirates when they ignore them while traveling on their ships.
3. Pirates wore eye patches for night vision.
4. How can you kill what has no life?
5. Trolls have night vision.
6. EA became a monopoly due to night vision.

Jacob P. @ Aug 16th 2007 1:44PM

All of that made perfect sense!! Why do you not work for the CIA or something?! ....or do you?

*dun dun dun*

d-pad @ Aug 16th 2007 1:46PM

Dude, share the acid or explain the trip.

Word of the street. @ Aug 16th 2007 1:55PM

That is the biggest pile of non sense I have ever heard and It would probably become a succesful Summer Blockbuster if anyone makes a movie about it.

Almack64 @ Aug 16th 2007 1:55PM

Man I literally loled. I hope the boss didn't hear.

Gambit @ Aug 16th 2007 1:14PM

Yet another reason why any game that has the EA logo on it makes me never want to touch it.

Defenestrator2.0 @ Aug 16th 2007 1:16PM

Damnit, when are people going to learn? If you change wikipedia wrongfully, you're going to get caught.

Orenthol James Simpson @ Aug 16th 2007 1:30PM

Yeah :( They totally caught that one time I changed the Stalin article on Wikipedia saying he was Mario.

BPM @ Aug 16th 2007 1:16PM

They're just trying to spread EA's wikiality.

http://www.wikiality.com/Wikiality

TravistyOJ @ Aug 16th 2007 1:17PM

The Quantum Leap reference really made me laugh hard. Bravo Alex, Bravo.

superberg @ Aug 16th 2007 1:18PM

When you stop and think about it, this is a serious problem in more ways than one. First, it shows that EA is trying to alter what is essentially public record. Second, it points out that folks at EA are well aware that they've done some unacceptable things, and would rather not own up to them.

There are so many things wrong with all that, I don't even know where to begin.

Anthony @ Aug 16th 2007 1:27PM

I love this new Wikipedia IP tracker. Very interesting stuff being uncovered.

For some pretty f-ed up edits, you can check out this link (you can vote for what you think is worst and also send in your own):

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/wikiwatch/

Spirit-of @ Aug 16th 2007 1:28PM

Joystiq should do an old fashioned "Quantum Leap Week" and reference Quantum Leap with every news bit within that week.

Ziggy predicts that Joystiq would raise the readerships' overall happiness by 77.45%.

Oh boy!

Matt @ Aug 16th 2007 1:31PM

I knew EA killed JFK, I could just never quite place how...

Jerk Face @ Aug 16th 2007 1:36PM

EA was the second gunman on the grassy knoll! It all makes sense now!

Damn tha EA!

steve @ Aug 16th 2007 1:31PM

more than likely, this is a rouge EA employee that did this on their own, not realizing what kind of stink it would cause. Now that's it's come to the publics attention, IT at EA will proberly track down the work station attached to that IP(finding out what building it came from, and searching the history of inside users that accessed the wikipedia address....), and the PR department will give them a stern talking to.
Either that, or EA is more wicked than I once thought.

Ryan @ Aug 20th 2007 3:53PM

"[...] a rouge EA employee [...]"

Or perhaps a blush EA employee?

Skyman @ Aug 21st 2007 12:54AM

Dusd, it's rogue, not rouge. :^P Unless you really meant he should have red cheeks. and i don't think
we really want to go there do we?

copa @ Aug 16th 2007 1:40PM

Some of this criticism is unfair. I have learned quite a bit from reading EA's Wikipedia page over the years.

In 1982, shortly after inventing the world's first videogame, Larry Probst founded Electronic Arts, a spectacularly successful software company.

It was Probst's personal experiences in winning the World Chess Championships and in single-handedly defeating an army of evil that led him to create the stragegy/action game Archon, which received Famitsu's first ever 41/40 score.

Probst followed up this blockbuster hit with the sports classic One on One: Dr. J vs. Probst. This basketball simulation was later rebranded and released as One on One: Dr. J vs. Larry Bird because in the original version it was almost impossible for Dr. J to top Probst's mad streetball skills.

There has been some controversy, however, during Electronic Arts history. In recent years, an employee sued Electronic Arts because the work environment was so stimulating and fun that he had a smile permanently fixed to his face. Also, he found his relationships with wife, friends, and family unsatisfying in comparison with his exhilarating job. The suit was eventually settled, with the employee receiving an autographed picture of Probst as compensation.

In 2007, John Riccitiello took over as CEO when Probst became too fucking awesome for this plane of existence and ascended to another dimension.

BPM @ Aug 16th 2007 2:59PM

For God's sake, someone give this guy a gold star!

Randy @ Aug 16th 2007 3:46PM

I have never EVER seen a greater comment.

Sam @ Aug 16th 2007 1:44PM

IM IN UR TIMESTREEM ALTURING UR FUTURZ

Word of the street. @ Aug 16th 2007 1:53PM

He for a second I thought that was cockmongler ha.

Almack64 @ Aug 16th 2007 1:59PM

I love the new "wikipedia scandel" section in the EA entry. Looks like their plans really backfired.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Arts#Wikipedia_Scandal

And this is why I love wikipedia.

NYC Armor Guy @ Aug 16th 2007 2:22PM

Yet another reason to avoid EA - I really wonder why Peter Moore went there...

(Except for the buckets of cash they threw at him, of course...)

WillGod @ Aug 16th 2007 2:27PM

I hate to break it to you guys but companies do this all the time. They usually just don't get caught. It's often a small part of online marketing / PR efforts.

If anything, the saddest part for EA is that it wasn't savvy enough to mask its moves better.