[WikiEN-l] One article, 12 volumes, and a snapshot of how news becomes history

[Risker]

http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/09/07/wikipedia-entry-on-iraq-war-turned-into-actual-encyclopedia/

Technology writer James Bridle (website: http://shorttermmemoryloss.com/)
took the [[Iraq war]] entry....and turned it into a 12-volume
historiography, publishing every edit over five years.  It's an interesting
exercise that isn't just a snapshot of how our project works, but of how
information becomes part of the cultural lexicon.  Which battles to include?
How is that word spelled? How does one properly describe the impact of
various religious sects on the outcome? And can the entire war really be
reduced to "Saddam Hussein was a dickhead"?


Bridle raises many good points in his discussion, differentiating history
from historiography.  Our "History" button is not just a means of
attributing contributions to meet license requirements: it is a window into
the manner in which our society collates, discusses, and accretes
information about historical events, shaping the way in which current and
future generations will view the world in our time.

This article is well worth the read.

Risker/Anne