[Foundation-l] Deindividuation and Wikipedia.

[Fred Bauder]

> A very interesting perspective from David McCraney who blogs at "You
> are not so smart" <www.youarenotsosmart.com>.
>
> http://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/02/10/deindividuation/
>
> "Deindividuation pervades virtual worlds, and the results are mixed.
> Download “Second Life” and take a stroll. Sooner or later you’ll end
> up in a sex dungeon. Play any game on Xbox Live, and someone will
> eventually claim to have carnal knowledge of your mother. You can
> thank anonymity and deindividuation for both. The comments under a
> Youtube video may make you weep for the species, but just click over
> to the entry on the humanzee in Wikipedia for restoration. It is
> consistent with the world outside the machine. The same force which
> built and maintained concentration camps also pushed soldiers onto
> Omaha Beach."
>
> Some good lessons for Wikimedia. :)
>
> "Deindividuation takes away your inhibitions as well as your sense of
> self and fear of accountability, but this isn’t necessarily a bad
> thing. The same force which brings otherwise rational people to loot
> and vandalize and invade Poland can also lead to prosocial behaviors.
> If you are surrounded by positive cues, deindividuation could lead you
> to work harder in an exercise class, or pitch in at a homeless
> shelter, or help build a house. People who forget their sense of self
> and work together to save a life or search for a missing child show
> deindividuation is a neutral force of the human will. When 4Chan or
> Digg or Reddit assemble into an anonymous collective to exact revenge
> it often ends in actual justice. Once deindividuation kicks in, the
> cues from the environment shape the resulting behavior. The norms of
> the mob, good or evil, replace the norms of everyday life."
>
> Yours sincerely,
>
> Anirudh Bhati
>
> 00 91 9328712208
> Skype: anirudhsbh
>

Yes, for good or ill, anonymous editors avoid social control; neither
your boss, your government, or you mother can control how you edit
Wikipedia.

Fred