
WikiScanner
Sign in to saveAlso known as Wikipedia Scanner
WikiScanner (also known as Wikipedia Scanner) was a publicly searchable database that linked anonymous edits on Wikipedia to the organizations where those edits apparently originated. It did this by cross-referencing the edits with data on the owners of the associated block of IP addresses, though it did not investigate edits made under a username. It was created by Virgil Griffith and released on August 13, 2007.
Key facts
- Website.name
- WikiScanner
- Website.screenshot
- 250px
- Website.caption
- Screenshot of the website on August 22, 2007.
- Website.url
- wikiscanner.virgil.grVirgil Griffith'svirgil.gr (current)
- Website.commercial
- No
- Website.type
- Database tool
- Website.language
- Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish
- Website.registration
- No
- Website.owner
- Virgil Griffith
- Website.author
- Virgil Griffith
- Website.current_status
- Offline (at least since 2013, page moved)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Official website
- wikiscanner.virgil.gr
Show 3 more facts
- Commons category
- WikiScanner
- inception
- 2007-00-00
- described at URL
- wikispooks.com/wiki/Wikiscanner
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~11 min read
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Design
- Media coverage and reaction
- Wikipedia reaction
- See also
- References
- External links
WikiScanner (also known as Wikipedia Scanner) was a publicly searchable database that linked anonymous edits on Wikipedia to the organizations where those edits apparently originated. It did this by cross-referencing the edits with data on the owners of the associated block of IP addresses, though it did not investigate edits made under a username. It was created by Virgil Griffith and released on August 13, 2007.
In his "WikiScanner FAQ" Griffith stated his belief that WikiScanner could help make Wikipedia more reliable for controversial topics. He also indicated that he had never been employed by the Wikimedia Foundation and claimed his work on WikiScanner was "100% noncommercial". On December 21, 2012, a research group from Fondazione Bruno Kessler released an open-source clone of WikiScanner called WikiWatchdog.