On 7/6/06, Daniel P. B. Smith wikipedia2006@dpbsmith.com wrote:
Interesting but quixotic. No, I _really_ mean it _is_ interesting, and I'm trying to let the idea soak in to figure out what it means or ought to mean or implies... but the idea that a Wikipedia page is forever is very deeply ingrained.
Let me be absolutely clear: I think the website was frankly idiotic, and it's mostly the SomethingAwful crowd of easily befuddled teens that cared about it. Nevertheless, it created a stir among thousands of people within a very short amount of time. Given how the Internet works, these brief mass phenomena are likely going to become more common, and will often lead to an influx of newbies on Wikipedia as well.
I have yet to see a convincing argument why it would be a bad idea to let the befuddled teens have their article (carefully vetted for verifiability and OR) for a few weeks, and to delete it when it's clear that the phenomenon has not transcended their subcultural sphere.
Erik