[WikiEN-l] Troubling news on Citizendium

[Nina Stratton]

On 1/17/07, Marc Riddell <michaeldavid86 at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
>
> > From: "Nina Stratton" <ninaeliza at gmail.com>
> > Reply-To: English Wikipedia <wikien-l at lists.wikimedia.org>
> > Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 08:20:48 -0800
> > To: "English Wikipedia" <wikien-l at lists.wikimedia.org>
> > Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] Troubling news on Citizendium
> >
> > +!
> >
> > On 1/17/07, Stan Shebs <stanshebs at earthlink.net> wrote:
> >>
> >> Phil Sandifer wrote:
> >>>
> >>> [...] If Larry wants an encyclopedia free of its biases, he should
> >>> work on one. But he shouldn't call it an encyclopedia run by experts
> >>> if he's going to dismiss the experts.
> >>>
> >> There are plenty of experts going at each other with knives on WP;
> >> expertise is simply a fund of knowledge, and does not magically confer
> >> diplomatic, communication, or collaboration skills. In fact, great
> >> knowledge tends to breed arrogance, making conflict more likely, not
> >> less so. CZ adds real names and attributions to the mix, raising the
> >> stakes even further by introducing the possibility of effect on one's
> >> careers. The organizer would need the superior political skills of an
> >> Ivy League dean to make it all work, but Larry's forum postings don't
> >> evidence much improvement at diplomacy since the times he was angering
> >> editors on WP.
> >>
> >> Stan
>
> Ya know what we need in WP, an Article on Expertaphobia: The fear of, and
> seeming intimidation by, people who know stuff about things.
>
> Someone, I don't recall who it was, wrote that they would never work on
> something where experts were involved. Really? Who would you go to if you
> needed heart surgery, or wanted to learn how to play a violin?
>
> Don't look now, but you are working with the aid of experts right now!
> Those
> marvelous persons behind the scenes of this computerized market place who
> make all of this possible. Without them we would be typing into the ether.
>
> Ease up!
>
> Marc Riddell
> >>
> >>
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Fair enough. As long as my intelligence, experience, and ability to learn
aren't discounted. I've been made to feel small a lot in my life by
"experts", simply because I didn't have one or two pieces of paper. It's all
good now and I love my career and life, but Wikipedia is important to me
because it's pretty much the opposite of my past.

People respect my skills and insight here. It's greatly improved my
confidence level on all fronts. In fact (why yes, it's quite ironic), I'm
planning on going back to school and getting my long-lost bachelor's and
masters in Human Services as a direct result of my time here (among other
things - my job plays a big part in it too).

Some of the editors that I've come to respect the most on Wikipedia are not
only non-experts, they're teenagers. My teenage collaborators have been
extremely active, and have gotten references to things no one else could
find. They're also knowledgeable, helpful, and kind. When I say teenagers,
I'm talking 14-15, not 18-19. They've impressed me in their editing and
insight more than any "expert".


> > Sincerely,
> >
> > Nina
> > "Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us
> and
> > conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work." - Abdul
> Kalam
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>
>
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>



-- 
Sincerely,

Nina
"Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and
conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work." - Abdul Kalam