G'day David Gerard,
On 03/07/07, Gwern Branwen <gwern0(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
That is precisely the issue with [[Essjay
controversy]]: WR may not
be a RS about anything else in the world - but is it a reliable
source about what happens on WR? More generally, is any site with
user-generated content a RS about what happens on that selfsame
site? Obviously some people don't think the answer is yes.
Well, not really. It was edited greatly after the attempt to get Phil
Sandifer in trouble with the police so as to cover their trail.
That's odd. The Mangoe was gloating in the thread over there ------>
that WikiAbuse[0] is necessary because everyone In The Know knows that
Wikipedia can't be trusted not to engage in widespread cover-ups of its
own history.
When Wikipedians do stupid shit (including supporting BADSITES), they
generally do it in good faith[2], because they think (wrongly, but there
you go) that their actions will help the project and their colleagues.
When Wikipedia critics do stupid shit, their motives aren't nearly as
pure[3].
Of course, ideally, nobody would do stupid shit, particularly
Wikipedians. We're not likely to see that happen under the current
system though, especially now that so many Clueless Newbies have
achieved administrator status. Eternal September, anyone?
[0] I don't have a problem with that site. I have yet to see anything
wrong with WikiAbuse ... *yet*. I do feel a sense of vague
disquiet[1] given
a) Its stated purpose of keeping track of Wikipedia
administrators. As a Wikipedia administrator, and further an
administrator who considers his Wikipedia conduct rather
honorable, I say: bring it on! But at the same time, the
ghosts of Daniel Brandt and WikiTruth hover ever-so-spookily on
Joe's shoulders.
b) It was Joe's idea. I mean ... *dude*. If a banned Wikipedian
wants to set up somewhere he can whine in public, good for him,
and there's no reason why the site can't be worthwhile. It's
just that we have so many examples of how this sort of thing
can fail ...
[1] That's right, boy, I think phrases I would never say.
[2] With one Notable Exception, a lass who was attempting to abuse
Wikipedia to support the cause of Animal Rights(TM). Thank God she
was discovered and exposed in time!
[3] That includes the Phil Sandifer thing. No, don't try lying about
that again, it didn't work last time, it won't work this time
either.
--
Mark Gallagher
"'Yes, sir,' said Jeeves in a low, cold voice, as if he had been bitten
in the leg by a personal friend."
- P G Wodehouse, /Carry On, Jeeves/