Cunctator opines:
There seems to be a pretty fixed number of Wikipedians who write "write
nonsense, brazen political propoganda, crankish unsupported stuff" on a consistent basis.
And that fixed number can be counted on one hand.
It is a problem that people stop editing out of frustration, but the evidence just isn't there that this is a ballooning problem. <<
I'm not just concerned about the ones who do it "on a consistent basis." I'm really concerned about the behavior, not the people. Moreover, the number of people who have polluted Wikipedia to any very significant degree in these ways would easily run into the many dozens. That's not counting the mere vandals. We've just forgotten about them because they've gone away, in many cases very quickly. The ones whose names immediately come to mind can be counted on one hand, yes.
I admit of course that I was merely stating my own opinion as to the seriousness of the problem. It's hard to quantify, but it seems completely obvious to me. It's not like there was a golden age of Wikipedia when everyone was friendly and cranks weren't in sight. On the other hand, I remember writing at one point (for the "replies to our critics" page, I think) that we hadn't had many problems with cranks and internecine warfare. Now, I really couldn't write that, and I suspect the "replies" page should be updated, if it hasn't already been.
What do the rest of you think?
Larry