[WikiEN-l] Game-playing on Wikipedia

[Skyring]

On 7/4/05, daniwo59 at aol.com <daniwo59 at aol.com> wrote:
> I dont see how this comment about Checkers, from the Department of Fun  page,
> helps to build an encyclopedia:
> 
> "Play checkers at Wikipedia and reduce your stress. No editing, patrolling,
> or anything else is allowed during this time!"
> 
> This is not at all what the Department of Fun was intended to be. It was a
> tool to help build an encyclopedia. It was never intended as a tool to keep
> people from editing, as this statement clearly asserts.

Clearly it has *increased* the stress level of some editors.

Someone was talking about EQ, which I've since forgotten whether it
stands for Emotion or Empathy. Something more San Francisco than
Cambridge, anyway.

I'm wondering whether the heat and hatred I see on Wikipedia is the
result of a bunch of anal-retentive nerds being pushed together. In
fact, some of the discussion and attitudes displayed here are exactly
what you'd expect if you got a large group of propeller-heads together
and forced them to co-operate and converse without the use of
emoticons.

Slashdot is a similar large project, explicitly aimed at the nerds of
the world. Does anyone know how they relieve stress?

-- 
Peter in Canberra