Mark Gallagher wrote:
G'day Steve,
<snip: why don't spoilers ever generate complaints?/>
Conjecture isn't necessarily fallacious. We
are all, most of us,
readers as well as editors. The people who like spoiler warnings
and argue for their retention are all, presumably, people who
appreciate spoiler warnings in the text they read. The set of
people who appreciate them (and would mourn their passing) is
clearly not empty.
People don't always write what they would like to read. Sad but true.
They don't even write what others would like to read.
Witness, for example, the endless trivia and "in
popular culture"
sections. Now, finding out at [[Jupiter]] that the megahit game
[[Bug-Eyed Space Invaders With Halos Doing Moon Jumps]] was set nearby
may be of interest to two or three idiots who otherwise wouldn't care a
jot for the planet, but the vast majority of stuff we see in such
sections is asinine ([[Statue of Liberty]] used to --- maybe still does
--- have a pop culture section longer than the rest of the article,
containing such gems as "The Statue featured in one Simpsons episode,
where Bart shouts at some immigrants, 'Go home, the country's full!'").
Just imagine if that were being written now with the Statue of Liberty
placed somewhere along the Mexican border. :-)
As a reader --- let alone my concerns as a Wikipedia
editor, and
therefore self-appointed co-guardian of its content and reputation ---
some pop culture sections are simply horrifying. I understand it's the
same for the vast majority of readers who read it. The support of such
sections is that they provide an outlet for, for example, newbies who
feel they want to contribute, and say, "Hey! I saw this statue on /The
Simpsons/! I don't know what it's for, but I remember a funny joke
about it ..."
I think that many of the pop culture articles are excellent in their own
context. The comprehensive original research done in that area has no
rivals. What's horrifying is the lack of equal dilligence with regards
to matters of the real world. Considering my current battle with the
AfDeletionists over a series of local schools makes me wonder about the
relative notability of a school that has graduated 1500-2000 real
students over a fifty year life span and an episode of Buffy the Vampire
Slayer. For some, the fictitious school that Buffy attended is more
important than any real one.
Parts of Wikipedia, great swathes of it (see also,
stub-sorting, certain
infoboxen) are not there for the benefit of readers. In many cases,
they exist because someone wants to write them, and doesn't give a damn
whether anyone would want to read them.
Self-importance begins at home. I am happy not to bother with them if
they don't bother with me.
Ec