Cryptozoologist's Wikipedia Edit War Over Jersey Devil Article Enters Seventh Month

A dispute between a cryptozoologist and a Wikipedia editor over the phrasing of the Jersey Devil article has entered its seventh month, with the article's opening sentence having been revised 347 times since August.

The conflict centers on whether the article should describe the Jersey Devil as 'an alleged cryptid' or 'a documented cryptid of the Pine Barrens,' a distinction that cryptozoologist Dr. Werner Leeds considers 'fundamental to the integrity of the article and, frankly, to the discipline of cryptozoology.'

'Alleged implies doubt,' Dr. Leeds explained. 'There are over 2,000 reported sightings dating back to 1735. At what point does alleged become documented? If 2,000 eyewitnesses aren't enough, what is the threshold? Three thousand? Five thousand? Wikipedia doesn't call the platypus alleged.'

Wikipedia editor ScienceFirst_42, who has been reverting Dr. Leeds' edits since August, responded: 'The platypus has been photographed, studied, and physically examined. The Jersey Devil has not. Documented requires documentation. Eyewitness accounts are not documentation. They're anecdotes.'

The edit war has escalated steadily. In September, Dr. Leeds added a 4,000-word section on 'Physical Evidence and Corroborating Testimony' that was removed within six hours. In October, ScienceFirst_42 added the word 'imaginary' to the opening sentence, which Dr. Leeds called 'vandalism disguised as skepticism.'

In November, both editors were temporarily blocked by Wikipedia administrators, who placed the article under protection and added a banner reading 'This article is the subject of an ongoing content dispute.'

Dr. Leeds considers the banner 'a small victory.'

'It means the article is disputed,' he said. 'Disputed means there are two sides. Two sides means the existence of the Jersey Devil is a matter of legitimate debate. That's all I ever wanted -- to be taken seriously enough to be argued with.'

ScienceFirst_42 has started editing the Mothman article. Dr. Leeds has followed.