quantity!
wikipedia recently announced the “creation” of its millionth article. wow.
have you checked a representative sample of those million? when i was a newbie plunking around wikipedia from article to article, it was exciting. the concept still is exciting, but i’m disheartened that people who could come up with such a beautiful thing aren’t paying attention to the serious flaws that prevent it from competing directly against pro encyclopedias. conclusion: wikipedia suffers from socialist mind warp.
in the last year i’ve become a semi-expert on bonnie and clyde. haven’t memorized every alleged detail (most of history is alleged), but when it comes to research and accuracy, there aren’t many who can keep up with me. so last summer i got it up my ass to expand the bonnie and clyde article from a stub. it wasn’t perfect or in any way complete (and left many stylistic things/words i disagreed with, simply because there wasn’t enough reason to change what was already there), but it was done well — a solid foundation for someone to expand, just as i’d done with what came before. thus finished “my part” (which was much more work that it seems, since unlike many other “editors”, i actually try to make sure what i write can withstand challenge), i sat back and watched it get fucked by any stupid asshole who walked by. lesson? don’t waste your time creating at wikipedia.
not going to harp it for miles like i could. there are plenty of wikipedia criticism sites now, most of which recognize that the “admin” cliques are basically the same stupid assholes who want power in the real world. last year i went active vandal at wikipedia — something i never thought i’d do. i wasn’t screwing up articles for the most part; i was fighting the unreal thickness of the average admin. and it’s funny how much you can get done there. both of my logins have been blocked indefinitely by the same fool, yet it hasn’t kept me from my mission (too complex to explain quickly). if you want to watch the corruption of power documented, just review the attitude history of an “admin” from his first month at the site to the year after he gets his jangly keys — scary, and almost always the same aspect — from mouse to policy-breaking tyrant, usually within a year.
though i’m not sure the owners even want it to, wikipedia will never succeed in its larger stated goals as long as there is no restriction to access. there is now such a crazy attitude from most wikipedia admins that ineptitude should be rewarded. if you “personally attack” a vandal or moron, that makes you enemy #1 to “the project” (more maoist type talk). however, if you are one of the most clueless fucks on this rock, as long as you shuffle along and act like you have a good attitude, they will embrace your endless fucking away of wealth like they’re LBJ suckling a beer-guzzling breeder from tuscaloosa. they, like many socialists, think that good intentions will pave the road to glory.
okay!