
Pro Golfer Fuzzy Zoeller, or anyone else for that matter, is prevented by law from suing Wikipedia, but there is nothing that says he can't sue the source of the accusations put on the site.
The entry that is being sued over, while now having been removed, was nonetheless discovered before action was taken. It alleged that Zoeller went public concerning alcoholism and prescription drug addiction. The entry also said that Zoeller was "in the process of polishing off a fifth of Jack (Daniels) after popping a handful of Vicodin pills.”
The entry continued saying: “He further detailed the violent nature of his disease, recalling how he’d viciously beat his wife Dianne and their four children while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. He also admitted feigning a ruptured spinal disc in 1985 so as to be prescribed a multitude of prescription medication. He has since sought professional help and mended his fractured familial relationships. In
May 2006, (Mr. Doe) said in a interview with Golf Digest magazine that he hadn’t beaten his wife in nearly five years.” Mr. Doe is referring to Zoeller.
Interestingly, the IP address was traced to an education consulting firm Josef Silny & Associates of Miami. Silny said that he was somewhat shocked that the entry had originated from his offices. He has hired a computer consultant to conduct an internal investigation on how the incident might have happened.
Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia which anyone can pretty much put what they want on it, has made changes since things like this, and other personal, inaccurate attacks have become part of their entries.
They've made it harder to do this by upgrading security procedures which lock out this type of activity. The problem is that users can "earn" the right to gain access to files and from there go into unlocked files.
For Wikipedia the problem isn't legal, but rather ethics and legitimacy. Too much of this happening takes away from them being considered a viable, general source of information, into a platform for nuts to make hidden attacks on whoever they don't like.







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