[WikiX-l] Truth in numbers

[Samuel Klein]

On Thu, Dec 16, 2010 at 8:02 AM, Lodewijk <lodewijk at effeietsanders.org> wrote:
> Just out of interest... (I would like to see the movie again to re-check my
> first reaction) is the film somewhere available for download at zero cost?
> (the film is after all CCBYSA according to truthinnumbersthemovie.com ).

Not that I've seen.  Maybe they are waiting for the DVD release (looks
like that is still only in preorder).  The license is a step in the
right direction, since they were still debating it at Wikimania.

Lennart writes:
>  Truth in numbers was very much a disappointment, it focuses too much
> on the "only amateurs" argument which we know is not true nor relevant,
> and it misses much of the cool things that are happening in the movement.
<
> Anyway, please do not take showing the film as an endorsement of the quality of the film.

Right.  It is a flawed film, but worth seeing with friends who can
laugh with you at the ridiculous parts.  Half of the film documents
the energy and scope of Wikipedians from around the world and of every
age - it's worth seeing for that.  There are some charming cameos
(user:node_ue comes to mind).

The other half focuses on what a few white American journalists,
historians and wiki-critics think about authority and Wikipedia, and
does not distinguish between thoughtful comments and careless ones.
(As one reviewer said: the film makes some good points about how we
determine authority, but not intentionally.)


Jimmy writes:
> Liam Wyatt spoke up to say that he felt "attacked" by the film.

Yes, it feels like that at times. As to whether you want to show all
or part of it in public... see for yourself.  Liam and I took part in
a panel discussion at a screening of the film in New York -- the
audience did not know much about Wikipedia, but had a positive view of
it afterwards, and thought the hostile critics looked like blowhards.


Lodewijk writes:
> I know that some Wikipedians were very unhappy about the result, and I
> also think that it is much less than it could have been. But at the same
> time, it is the best there is in this category at the moment. I can only hope
> that some day there will be a better version available :)

Lennart writes:
> We should really do something better, and I do feel there's potential in doing
> it by crowdsourcing, much as YouTube did their YouTube symphony...
< As we will show it mainly to Wikipedians, they will know what parts
are untrue,
> and what parts are unfair - and if they are offended by the film, we can say
> Hey, let's do a better one", just as we do when it comes to Wikipedia articles.

I think the most interesting aspect of the film is the hundreds of
hours of interviews with Wikimedians that didn't make it into the
film.  The raw footage is good; it's the narrative arc they chose that
is sad.  Figuring out what to do with this archive of our community's
footage is a nice challenge.  (of course first they have to get around
to posting it...)


Jay writes:
> On a broader scale, I've started exploring the very first steps of some kind
> of a collaborative, travelling wikimedia film festival.

Now that is a brilliant idea.

SJ