Consulting the WikiRage oracle this week, we discover to my mind the most interesting collection of edited articles since we started the feature. But then I will admit, I already have “Grand Theft Auto IV” pre-ordered.
Article: Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack
Why: The blockbuster video game commonly known as “GTA IV” will be released Tuesday, but there are reports it has leaked online, and the list of songs and artists has to date not been fully listed.
Detail: A conscientious editor has tried to call the mob to reason: “This page has zero sources. I understand the game comes out on Tuesday, and there are leaked copies that people have (pirated and otherwise), but unless a credible source lists the soundtrack for the game it has no business being on wikipedia. This entire page is original research or speculation. This page needs to be re-done, or mostly deleted until we can verify the soundtrack from a reliable source.” He tried creating a version based entirely on previously published facts, but his version has not prevailed. But as he acknowledges, if the information is accurate, the page will be verifiable on short order. A losing battle.- Article: Thierry Henry
Why: French soccer player, the Featured Article (FA) on the Wikipedia Main Page on April 23.
Detail: 82.69.66.147 of London and 82.20.251.226 of Portsmouth, England really have it in for the guy. - Article: Danica Patrick
Why: The comely young IndyCar driver/GoDaddy spokesbabe won her first IndyCar race — and became the first woman ever to do so.
Detail: In contrast to Henry, Patrick has enthusiastic supporters in Ciley Myrus (”YOU GO GIRL!”) and Happy Halter-topped Hippie Chick (”WE LOVE YOU, DANICA!”) but they aren’t helping, either. 
Article: Ocean sunfish
Why: FA on April 23.
Detail: Sometimes I wonder why people bother promoting their articles for the recognition, considering the high level of tedious vandalism that frequently occurs, as it did in this case. On the other hand, if I was really into the Ocean sunfish, I would probably take pride in defending its honor.- Article: Deaths in 2008
Why: Week in, week out, people keep shuffling off this mortal coil.
Detail: For two weeks in a row, nobody of any significant fame (at least in North America) passed away. Judging by the history page, the most intense interest surrounded the shooting death of a New Orleans rapper named VL Mike. - Article: Super Fun Time
Why: The mid-season finale of “South Park.”
Detail: As he has in previous weeks, Professor Chaos — deployer of more userboxes than any other editor I’ve seen — has valiantly defended the page from the inclusion of a Trivia section. Some of his fellow editors are very much annoyed by his insistence that material from the section be moved into the main article, but he is correct that Trivia sections are frowned upon, and there is none in the article now. - Article: Vasa (ship)
Why: As you may have figured out by now, if the subject has been obsolete for 30 years or more, it must be a FA, as this was on April 24.
Detail: Seriously, who vandalizes an article about a shipwrecked 17th century Swedish warship? Is it the Swedish part? - Article: American Idol
Why: It’s still going on, right?
Detail: It’s come to the point in the season where even I, an ardent non-watcher, know the name of at least one person on the show. But the fact that related articles haven’t appeared on the WikiRage top 10 most-edited much over the past few weeks has to count against its continued relevance. 
Article: Pearl Jam
Why: FA on April 22.
Detail: Although considered good enough to be featured on the front page, the article also continued to include fanboy POV like “Pearl Jam continues to generate hit albums, tour successfully, and garner critical acclaim into the 21st century.” in the first section, and still includes a quote asserting they were “the most popular American rock & roll band of the ’90s” just because some guy at All Music Guide said so. Nirvana fans strenuously object.- Article: E=MC² (Mariah Carey album)
Why: As the title of the article indicates, Mariah Carey’s latest album goes highbrow. Okay, not really.
Detail: In late March, an editor pointed out on the Talk page, “It should be mentioned in the intro that its a play on the famous formula by einstein.” Why he or she did not simply add it then I don’t know, but it’s better than (but not nearly as fun as) this comment from the Talk page a month before: “whats with that title written on the page???……..is that the new title??…….has it been confirmed??……isnt ‘that Chick’ the official title?? and if it is the official title,whats does the ‘E’ stand for…..d” In any case, today the article helpfully notes the reference, and explains: “The album name means ‘(E) Emancipation (=) equals (MC) Mariah Carey (²) to the second power’.” And I am not sure I am glad we have that cleared up.
Holdovers this week: Nothing from last week returns.
Falling off the list: Everything from last week.
Recurring themes: The latest episode of South Park, and Deaths in 2008 makes a comeback.
Honorable mention: David Archuleta, whose name I alluded to at least recognizing, was in fact #13 for the week.
Images courtesy Coneee, mattindy77 and Jer on Flickr.
