Oversight

From Encyc

Oversight is a term used on Wikipedia (and other wikis that use Wikimedia software) to refer to the ability to delete an edit from history, as if it was never made. Only a select few people ever get access to oversight abilities.

Supposedly, oversight was to be used in legal issues, to prevent something like the Seigenthaler scandal from reoccurring. If someone who had an article written about them, or something that they were personally close to, and they could prove their identity, they could ask to have the information removed and oversighted. The person did not have to prove that it wasn't true - it sufficed that there was doubt that it was true. In some cases oversight could be undone.

Oversight was also used in preference to simply deleting a revision because of the advent of Wikitruth, whereby administrators showed deleted versions of articles, which were often deleted for legal reasons (for example Brian Peppers).

Whilst there were claims that oversight would never be abused, in its first week of existence one of the first people with access to the ability, Jayjg, abused it significantly by hiding SlimVirgin's bias, pretending that she didn't enter Wikipedia methodically so as to manipulate and control the Lockerbie bombing article. He is also alleged to have abused this command further by deleting thousands of his own edits.