classinfobox stylefontsize  width   stylebackgroundCCCCFF  Timeline    February   Essjay account registered   Essjay states on his Wikipedia user page that he teaches graduate theology with doctorates in Theology and Canon Law A public viewable version of this claim as dated  is visible on the Internet Archive  Please note that if you click on the above link and you have an IRC client installed on your computer either your client will open or if you already have your IRC client open new tabschannels will be opened  July   The New Yorker publishes an article on Wikipedia written by Stacy Schiff which features an interview with Essjay  January  Essjay is hired by Wikia  January   Essjay posts autobiographical details on his user page at Wikia giving his supposed real name Ryan Jordan age and previous employment history from age  and his positions within various Wikimedia Foundation projects These details differ sharply from previous assertions on Essjays Wikipedia user page about his academic and professional credentials  January  Daniel Brandt contacts the author of the article about discrepancies in Jordans biographyIan King   February   Another Wikipedia editor challenges Essjay on his talk page about the discrepancy and he responds with an explanation  February   Jimmy Wales announces the appointment of Essjay to Wikipedias Arbitration Committee ArbCom Wales later asserts that the appointment was at the request of and unanimous support of ArbCom  February   The New Yorker publishes the correction for its July  issue which appears in its The Mail section of its print version It is picked up by online sources within the next day  March   Wales asks Jordan to resign his positions of trust Jordan promptly retires from Wikipedia altogether and later resigns from his position at Wikia  March   Story covered by the The New York Times  March   Jordans hometown newspaper publishes an article casting doubts about his January  claims on his Wikia userpage that he had worked for the United States Trustee Program and had been a Kentucky paralegalWolfson Andrew Wikipedia editor who posed as professor is Ky dropout The CourierJournal March    March   Story covered in an Associated Press article  March   Story appears in twominute segment on World News with Charles Gibson  March   The New Yorker publishes a formal apology by Wales in its March  The Mail section    The Essjay controversy related to a prominent Wikipedia administrator and salaried Wikia employee Essjay later selfidentified as Ryan Jordan In February  Essjay was found to have made false claims about his academic qualifications and professional experiences on his Wikipedia user page and to journalist Stacy Schiff during an interview for The New YorkerSchiff Stacey Know it all Can Wikipedia conquer expertise The New Yorker July  Cohen Noam After False Claim Wikipedia to Check Degrees The New York Times March  Finkelstein Seth Read me first The Guardian March   and to have exploited his supposed qualifications as leverage in internal disputes over Wikipedia content The issues highlighted within the controversy included his falsifying of a persona and qualifications the impact of this deception on perceptions of Wikipedia and its policies and credibility and the quality of decisions made in his promotion support and employment  Reactions to the disclosure were diverse encompassing commentary and articles in the electronic print and broadcast media the Wikipedia community researched Essjays article edits to check for errors and debated proposals to improve the projects handling of personal identification In his activities as an editor Essjay had spent less time editing the content of articles and more time addressing vandalism and resolving editorial disputes  Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales initially supported Essjays use of a persona saying I regard it as a pseudonym and I dont really have a problem with itRatcliffe Mitch March   Wikipedia Why does Essjay need to protect himself Zdnetcom Retrieved March   Later Wales withdrew his support and asked for Essjays resignation from his positions with Wikipedia and WikiaCohen Noam Wikipedia ire turns against exeditor International Herald Tribune March   Wales stated that he withdrew his support when he learned that EssJay used his false credentials in content disputes on Wikipedia  The New Yorker interview Stacy Schiff a Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist writing for The New Yorker interviewed Essjay as a source for an article about Wikipedia Know It All July   after he was recommended to her by a member of the Wikimedia Foundation According to The New Yorker Essjay was willing to describe his work as a Wikipedia administrator but would not identify himself other than by confirming the biographical details that appeared on his user page   During the interview Jordan told The New Yorker and had previously stated on his Wikipedia user page that he held doctoral degrees in theology and canon law and worked as a tenured professor at a private university It was later discovered that he was  years old and had dropped out of community college with no qualifications  The New Yorker published a correction in February  which brought the issue to broader public attention  The article said that Essjay spent some  hours or more a day on Wikipedia but was car