The third is the big one: the politics. Many, many people look upon Wikipedia as an object example of "The Tyranny of Structurelessness" (or "Lord of the Flies", if you prefer the monosyllabic version), and in my opinion, they're right.
<snip>
on 6/11/07 1:06 PM, Mark Gallagher at m.g.gallagher@student.canberra.edu.au wrote:
And I do agree with you about the Tyranny of Structurelessness; all it means is that the powers-that-be are hidden from view, unknown, perhaps even to themselves. And nobody is accountable. This is a constant risk on Wikipedia, and there are parts of the project that have already succumbed.
OK, folks, how many references to ³structurelessness², and the effect it is having on this Project, is it going to take, before this Community wakes up and sees it for the truly serious problem that it is?
When will this Community realize that these ³powers-that-be² members with the loudest, most persistent, seemingly ³authoritative², and seemingly most convincing voices, will take negative advantage of that structureless vacuum and steer it in the direction they want it to go? And that, right now, they like it just the way it is!
When will the members of this Community take a step back from the piece of the puzzle they are interested in, and see that soon there may not be anything to connect it to?
When will this Community finally open their eyes and see that the Emperor really is naked?
Take a good look at the Wikipedia Logo: that may not be a puzzle being put together but, rather, one that is coming apart.
Marc Riddell