The Encyclopedia a small number of people can edit

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peterdavidcarter
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The Encyclopedia a small number of people can edit

Post by peterdavidcarter » Sat Aug 03, 2019 9:43 pm

I notice the more I edit Wikipedia pages, that I come across the same people time and time again. These people will not ever let you change a page significantly unless it conforms to their view and even then rarely. It's funny how from 'the Encyclopedia anyone can edit' we've got to a state where things are exactly the same as they used to be. That is: a small number of people who are not better, or cleverer, or more educated, create the 'truth'. How odd that a project that was supposed to democratize truth ended up doing the opposite. All, how predicable.

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Re: The Encyclopedia a small number of people can edit

Post by CrowsNest » Sun Aug 04, 2019 6:00 pm

Well, what we had before were a small number of experts who wrote encyclopedia entries and an even smaller set of editors who, well, edited it into a cohesive volume. It could be trusted to be the truth, because it was their business model to be seen to be disseminating knowledge.

Now, yes, we have a small number of goobers flinging shit at a communal wall, and calling it an encyclopedia they wrotedited, with nobody much caring if it is true or not, because it's FREEE MAAAAN.

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Re: The Encyclopedia a small number of people can edit

Post by peterdavidcarter » Sun Aug 04, 2019 6:07 pm

Are you saying the past was better? Idk. All I know is Wikipedia isn't what it says it is.

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Re: The Encyclopedia a small number of people can edit

Post by CrowsNest » Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:08 pm

peterdavidcarter wrote:Are you saying the past was better? Idk.
The past what?

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Re: The Encyclopedia a small number of people can edit

Post by peterdavidcarter » Mon Aug 05, 2019 8:44 pm

What I mean about the past version of Wikipedia is: the past economic model which rewarded control of knowledge directly financially. I'm not sure if I feel other motivations and indirect financial motivations (I mean, those don't exist on Wikipedia tho, right ;)) are better or worse... In that sense my major issue is that the whole dream Wikipedia was founded on is still being sold, even though it's pretty obviously false to anyone who takes the time to look beneath the surface. It's not the Encyclopedia anyone can edit, it's an increasingly small number of people's opinions copy pasted over pretty much everything else, even when they don't make coherant sense.

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Re: The Encyclopedia a small number of people can edit

Post by JuiceBeetle » Tue Aug 06, 2019 12:36 am

peterdavidcarter wrote:What I mean about the past version of Wikipedia is: the past economic model which rewarded control of knowledge directly financially. I'm not sure if I feel other motivations and indirect financial motivations (I mean, those don't exist on Wikipedia tho, right ;)) are better or worse... In that sense my major issue is that the whole dream Wikipedia was founded on is still being sold, even though it's pretty obviously false to anyone who takes the time to look beneath the surface. It's not the Encyclopedia anyone can edit, it's an increasingly small number of people's opinions copy pasted over pretty much everything else, even when they don't make coherant sense.


You're talking about English Wikipedia specifically? Each language instance is a bit different (and less significant).

It seems to me many people believe in the dream of an open encyclopedia, and become a free worker, until they burn out... But in reality, it's an insider/elitist culture, governed by a few hundred editors (and admins), who spent years to solidify their influence. These editors don't have to make sense: being a high-profile editor implies being right. Policies are interpreted so they are proven right. If that's too hard, there's ultimate policy WP:Ignore all rules :lol: Double standards are so deeply ingrained in WP culture, that people don't even complain. It's the norm.

And it has it's benefits: the most active admins on English WP are online 5*8 or even 7*10 hours a week... one can guess where their income comes from. It's obvious there position is monetized, and the "we are volunteers" ideology is just a facade.

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Re: The Encyclopedia a small number of people can edit

Post by Graaf Statler » Tue Aug 06, 2019 8:59 am

Gaslighted wrote:You're talking about English Wikipedia specifically? Each language instance is a bit different (and less significant).
.

The money streams on WP-NL are exacte as perverse as you describe. Wikipedia becomes from a hobby a profession in different ways. I mentioned it on WikiRev before, wikipedians become wikimedians and later professional wikimedians and make in this way step after step on the wiki carrier ladder. And often, later, a carrier outside wikipedia when they are high enough on the wiki ladder.
Wikipedia itself become a burden for them, so they start to look for lazy ways to keep there high wiki status in the most easy way. By being a "tuff" sysops, a for ever Arb, by operating a bot. And you have also many what we call zijinstromers, side in streamers, people who have never edited wikipedia but who are attracted by the free lunches and easy to make money. Or they use wikipedia to pimp there career.

And who is standing in there way by being critical they execute in a digital way with there troll arsenal, what is international the same I have noticed. And in this way a complete international destructive wiki industry has formed itself behind wikipedia. With nepotism, corruption, Star Chamber like T&S and Arbcom and Meta stewards, an so on.
And in this way wikipedia destroys and eat itself from inside out. Because for integer editors is no place in this scenario, the wiki industry has become the new goal of Wikipedia.

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Re: The Encyclopedia a small number of people can edit

Post by sashi » Tue Aug 06, 2019 9:34 am

gaslighted wrote:the most active admins on English WP are online 5*8 or even 7*10 hours a week... one can guess where their income comes from. It's obvious there position is monetized, and the "we are volunteers" ideology is just a facade.


One interesting case is El C. In seven years (from Sept 2009 to Feb 2017) they kept their administrator status despite not making a single edit to an article (and only 14 contributions total). source (actually they were desysopped for a total of 3 months during that time, & had their buttons restored twice)

Since a little before 1 April 2019, they have been averaging over 250 contributions a day and have taken only 3 days off. Their timecard shows they don't take much time off during the week, not even to sleep.

If the Signpost were doing its job they would run a human interest story on the Hebrew-speaking volunteer(s) or employee(s) running that account.

Looks like they were desysopped for cause back in Feb 2006 (by Jimbo). What a strange place.

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Re: The Encyclopedia a small number of people can edit

Post by CrowsNest » Tue Aug 06, 2019 2:44 pm

Now we know the alternative, whatever its faults, the past model of paying people for knowledge, seems better.

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Re: The Encyclopedia a small number of people can edit

Post by Dysklyver » Tue Aug 06, 2019 6:52 pm

CrowsNest wrote:Now we know the alternative, whatever its faults, the past model of paying people for knowledge, seems better.

Sad but true.

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