> The third is the big one: the politics. Many, many
people look upon
> Wikipedia as an object example of "The Tyranny of Structurelessness"
> (or "Lord of the Flies", if you prefer the monosyllabic version), and
> in my opinion, they're right.
<snip>
on 6/11/07 1:06 PM, Mark Gallagher at
m.g.gallagher(a)student.canberra.edu.au
wrote:
And I do agree with you about the Tyranny of
Structurelessness; all it
means is that the powers-that-be are hidden from view, unknown, perhaps
even to themselves. And nobody is accountable. This is a constant risk
on Wikipedia, and there are parts of the project that have already
succumbed.
OK, folks, how many references to ³structurelessness², and the effect it is
having on this Project, is it going to take, before this Community wakes up
and sees it for the truly serious problem that it is?
When will this Community realize that these ³powers-that-be² members with
the loudest, most persistent, seemingly ³authoritative², and seemingly most
convincing voices, will take negative advantage of that structureless vacuum
and steer it in the direction they want it to go? And that, right now, they
like it just the way it is!
When will the members of this Community take a step back from the piece of
the puzzle they are interested in, and see that soon there may not be
anything to connect it to?
When will this Community finally open their eyes and see that the Emperor
really is naked?
Take a good look at the Wikipedia Logo: that may not be a puzzle being put
together but, rather, one that is coming apart.
Marc Riddell