I'll bet those of you who read this headline - U. of Texas Professor Praises Wikipedia - thought that I had begun passing myself off as a professor. No, the article is not about me - it's about a UT Dallas professor named David Parry. He, of course, makes great points (points that I have made in the past):

He encourages his students to read Wikipedia’s “history” and “discussion” pages, saying they explain how articles were produced. And he says the online encyclopedia’s entry on global warming does a good job of explaining both the controversy and the science surrounding the issue.

But for a real treat, check out the comments on The Wired Campus blog where this story was posted. Academics are scared shitless of Wikipedia. Here's one of the comments:

Ah, Yes, Transparency …

Try to imagine a typical day at the Wikipedian Campus o’ th’ Future.

1001 Administrators, all of them dressed in the Full Regalia of Halloween, with pseudonyms straight out of Harry Potter and other Great Books.

Chancellor Waldemart says she has a cold today, but you could swear it’s the same person who called himself Provost Lestringent yesterday. But never mind that now — how well you remember the fate of Poor Old Bumblebore, summarily banned from Campus for all time by Chief Counsel Snipe, and all he did was hint that Dean Umbrage talked and walked in a manner quite reminiscent of Dean Malvolio.

Yes, no doubt that’s the sort of “Transparency” that Administrations o’ th’ Future would be glad to don — along with their Precious Invisibility Cloaks.

His article is published at Science Progress.