# Wiki ambulance chasers **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 21, 2006, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-ambulance-chasers/373541 "2006-09-21T10:37:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-ambulance-chasers/373541/1 "2006-09-21T10:37:23Z")
There seems to be a certain type of person who, when they hear of the death of a celebrity, don’t think “Oh, that’s a shame.” They think “I wonder if anyone’s updated their Wikipedia entry yet? Maybe I can be first!” It happened with Steve Irwin, of course – looking at the [history](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steve_Irwin&limit=500&action=history) of his Wiki entry, there more than 1,000 edits within the first 12 hours of his death being announced. Yesterday it happened with the _Top Gear_ presenter [Richard Hammond](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hammond). Only, he’s not dead. And his death was never even announced, but still several people edited the article to say he did. What’s up with that? Hoping he’d die so they could be First With The News!? Ain’t the information age great? ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-ambulance-chasers/373541/2 "2006-09-21T10:52:53Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] Yesterday it happened with the _Top Gear_ presenter [Richard Hammond](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Hammond). Only, he’s not dead. And his death was never even announced, but still several people edited the article to say he did [/QUOTE] When I heard, the first place I thought to check was Wiki and not the Beeb website :o ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-ambulance-chasers/373541/3 "2006-09-21T11:48:53Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] Ain’t the information age great? [/QUOTE] Your tone of voice sounds slightly sarcastic. But, actually, seeing Wiki evolve into a site that can (hopefully) be trusted as a source of up to date news, still edited by Joe Blow, in pretty interesting. The other day I was looking for information about this big [Amaranth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranth_%28hedge_fund%29) hedge fund collapse, and I went to Wiki first. It wasn’t a news story, but I knew they’d have links about futures trading, and crap like that. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-ambulance-chasers/373541/4 "2006-09-21T11:59:28Z")
I agree that Wikipedia is great, but not for “breaking news”. Edit wars, fighting to be the first to report someone’s death – and just inventing their death if they have the temerity to hang in there and you get bored waiting – seem in pretty poor taste to me. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-ambulance-chasers/373541/5 "2006-09-21T13:45:23Z")
Folks around here seem pretty quick to pick up on any major or minor celebrity’s death. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-ambulance-chasers/373541/6 "2006-09-21T13:49:46Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] Folks around here seem pretty quick to pick up on any major or minor celebrity’s death. [/QUOTE] Three words: **Celebrity Death Pool**. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-ambulance-chasers/373541/7 "2006-09-21T13:50:44Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] Folks around here seem pretty quick to pick up on any major or minor celebrity’s death. [/QUOTE] Damn, I came in to mention the same thing. I find out about more deaths from the Dope than [CNN.com](http://CNN.com) now. Most people seem to like to discuss a celebrity’s death and on Wikipedia or a message board, this is made more obvious as you are more likely to interact with other people that cared for the now departed celebrity. I think it makes sense and it is not at all ghoulish, it is just the reality of modern humans. Jim ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wiki-ambulance-chasers/373541/8 "2006-09-21T13:53:14Z")
BTW: Not to long ago a poster here put up an Op saying Wil Ferrel was dead. Bob Hope was famously reported dead to a full session of Congress. False reports happen. Jim Sorry for the double post.