On Jan 26, 2016 3:22 AM, "Gerard Meijssen" <gerard.meijssen(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
Thanks for the FUD.
"Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt" are not the precise words I would choose,
but they fairly adequately describe how I feel about the WMF these days.
Of course, as a bit of jargon, FUD typically implies that somebody is
trying to use those emotions in a manipulative way.
All I can say to that is....nope, not my intention.
So where are your sources Pete?
First, the main
point of my email was to challenge what I consider a poor
argument against Wikidata. That point is, IMO, the important one.
However, you're right: I did talk about my beliefs. I do believe there is a
problem to be considered; and I don't think I need to offer proof for what
my own beliefs are.
But, i agree, some substantiation is worthwhile. I consider the following
to be the most interesting published documents relating to these issues:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Discovery_Year_0-1-2.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2016-01-13/Op-ed
It is very clear that the WMF has big plans, and that we have only seen
parts of those plans. What those plans are, and whether they are good ones,
remains to be explored; but the opaqueness of the plans is itself a
problem. That is my point.
When other plans exist, the WMF is not the party
developing them. For
instance: I am arguing for the use of Wikidata in links and redlinks. I
have published about it and I welcome comments. I asked you personally and
you were not even interested.
OK, this part is getting silly. You presented an idea to me in private that
is obviously a good idea. But, as I explained to you, your single-minded
interest in me expressing an opinion on it gave me pause. I explained to
you that you seemed more interested in setting me up to be a part of your
political point, than in actually having a discussion. So I declined to
discuss your idea.
This message seems to prove that my instincts were correct.
Pete
On 26 January 2016 at 08:33, Pete Forsyth <peteforsyth(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> (Note: I'm creating a new thread which references several old ones; in
the
> most recent, "Profile of Magnus
Manske," the conversation has drifted
back
> to Wikidata, so that subject line is no longer
applicable.)
>
> Andreas Kolbe has argued in multiple threads that Wikidata is
fundamentally
> problematic, on the basis that it does not
require citations. (Please
> correct me if I am mistaken about this core premise.) I've found these
> threads illuminating, and appreciate much of what has been said by all
> parties.
>
> However, that core premise is problematic. If the possibility of people
> publishing uncited information were fundamentally problematic, here are
> several platforms that we would have to consider ethically problematic
at
> the core:
> * Wikipedia (which for many years had very loose standards around
> citations)
> * Wikipediocracy (of which Andreas is a founding member) and all
Internet
> forums
> * All blogs
> * YouTube
> * Facebook
> * The Internet itself
> * The printing press
>
> Every one of the platforms listed above created opportunities for
people --
> even anonymously -- to publish information
without a citation. If we
are to
> fault Wikidata on this basis, it would be wrong
not to apply the same
> standard to other platforms.
>
> I'm addressing this now, because I think it is becoming problematic to
> paint Wikidata as a flawed project with a broad brush. Wikidata is an
> experiment, and it will surely lead to flawed information in some
> instances. But I think it would be a big problem to draw the conclusion
> that Wikidata is problematic overall.
>
> That said, it is becoming ever more clear that the Wikimedia Foundation
has
> developed big plans that involve Wikidata; and
those big plans are not
open
> to scrutiny.
>
> THAT, I believe, is a problem.
>
> Wikidata is not a problem; but it is something that could be leveraged
in
> problematic ways (and/or highly beneficial
ways).
>
> I feel it is very important that we start looking at these issues from
that
perspective.
-Pete
[[User:Peteforsyth]]
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