Wikipediocracy

Rational Observer

From the lead of Benjamin Franklin Tilley : https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Benjamin_Franklin_Tilley&oldid=712501640 Graduating after the conflict, he gradually rose through the ranks. This is an FA on the mainpage, and it took me no less than five seconds to find a clunker in the lead. F...

Rational Observer

Poetlister wrote:Of course, the number of citations is meaningless. How many are deadlinks or (if to paper sources) fakes? How many do not actually confirm what they are alleged to confirm? How many are unnecessary duplications?

I can't imagine anyone agreed with SB's assessment criteria. Did anyone?

Rational Observer

And shouldn't an article's accuracy be checked during the source review at FAC? Of course it should be. However, that would only be possible if there were FAC reviewers who were competent to do so, which very often does not seem to be the case. So, in other words, WPA members will seek to trump FAC...

Rational Observer

And maybe they meant they would reveal info to ArbCom to demonstrate a COI, but never intended to post anything onWiki. Which is even more daft, because JzG doesn't have a conflict of interest. Conflict of interest (COI) editing involves contributing to Wikipedia about yourself, family, friends, cl...

Rational Observer

And shouldn't an article's accuracy be checked during the source review at FAC? Of course it should be. However, that would only be possible if there were FAC reviewers who were competent to do so, which very often does not seem to be the case. So, in other words, ERB members will seek to trump FAC...

Rational Observer

I don't know of any policy basis for the statement that "if you have given your real name on Wikipedia, you can't be outed". What about the first sentence of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Harassment#Posting_of_personal_information,WP:OUTING ? "Posting another editor's personal information...

Rational Observer

This seems like a ok block, from what I see. Why didn't he just use the COI noticeboard? It's not clear what COI Biscuittin is talking about. According to JzG's talkpage, his name is Guy Chapman and he works in tech. I don't know what kind of campaigner he is, or does he get paid to advocate agains...

Rational Observer

So now we can add, "your contributions lacked accuracy" to the litany of shame and discredit tactics already available. On any serious reference work, if a contributor introduces inaccuracy that should certainly be a reason for a ticking off. However, Wikipedia being what it is, that reason will un...

Rational Observer

We don't seem to have discussed WikiProject Accuracy , a project started this year to "help solidify WP's reputation as an accurate and trustworthy source of general knowledge" (sic). Why on earth has such a thing not existed since the earliest days of Wikipedia? I'm not a marketing major, but I th...

Rational Observer

Changing gears, I note that quite a few of the complaints in this thread reflect Wikipedia's ambivalence about identifying its audience and its unwillingness to acknowledge that audience matters when writing. As a result, every article is written with some different audience in mind. Most of us are...

Rational Observer

We-ell, wikipedia was/is a work in progress and it's not exactly as if there is some model or precedent out there. Comparing many articles is like comparing apples to oranges. The basic algorithm is to always substitute a plainer English word or phrase for a technical or jargonistic one unless sign...

Rational Observer

"A graphic firsthand description of the nuckelavee as it appears on land was given by an islander who claimed to have had a confrontation with it, but accounts describing the details of the creature's appearance are inconsistent ... No tales describe what form the nuckelavee takes when in the sea,[6...

Rational Observer

Newer editors who know too much are obvious socks, but newer editors who know too little are incompetent.

Rational Observer

When established users break the rules it's an isolated incident that does not appear to be part of an overall pattern (nothing to see here), but when noobs break the rules it's WP:NOTHERE or WP:CIR.

Rational Observer

Of course he knew better. He also knew that its exceptionally rare for anyone to do anything about it and even rarer for an admin to lose their tools. So the odds were in his favor the whole time and in fact the likelihood of him ever getting desysopped over it was small and he knew that. All he ha...

Rational Observer

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons:Administrators/Requests/HJ_Mitchell_%28de-adminship%29&diff=190736135&oldid=190735903 : ''{{vd|remove}} = 22; {{vk}} = 28; '''Result''': No consensus for removal. --[[User:Krd|Krd]] 11:28, 20 March 2016 (UTC) This is disappointing. Big debate,...

Rational Observer

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons:Administrators/Requests/HJ_Mitchell_%28de-adminship%29&diff=190736135&oldid=190735903 : ''{{vd|remove}} = 22; {{vk}} = 28; '''Result''': No consensus for removal. --[[User:Krd|Krd]] 11:28, 20 March 2016 (UTC) This is disappointing. Big debate,...

Rational Observer

Fae's remove vote is especially well-crafted. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons:Administrators/Requests/HJ_Mitchell_(de-adminship)&curid=47490763&diff=190669095&oldid=190663594 And if I understand the recent exchange there, HJ has now also accused Odder of posting private infor...

Rational Observer

Looks like HJ has a tendency to shirk his admin duties and play hide-and-seek when things get stressful. You and I clearly have vastly differing ideas of what constitutes "shirking admin duties". This whole thing has precisely nothing to do with admin work, and responding to it was not an "admin du...

Rational Observer

HJ_Mithell has finally shown up: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons:Administrators/Requests/HJ_Mitchell_%28de-adminship%29&diff=190529571&oldid=190528402 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commons:Administrators/Requests/HJ_Mitchell_%28de-adminship%29&diff=19053418...

Rational Observer

i think indef blocks are fine. anyone who truly wants to come back and behave can do so under a new account and just not out themselves; i presume this happens all the time? anyone who wants to create drama is going to do it regardless of whether blocks are limited or unlimited. i've never been blo...

Rational Observer

You could argue (and some members of this forum have argued) that getting so many people to contribute so much unpaid labour to building Wikipedia and other WMF projects is a spectacular con trick. Certainly, Jimbo has done fairly well out of it. Maybe, except many of the people who contribute enjo...

Rational Observer

i think indef blocks are fine. anyone who truly wants to come back and behave can do so under a new account and just not out themselves; i presume this happens all the time? anyone who wants to create drama is going to do it regardless of whether blocks are limited or unlimited. i've never been blo...

Rational Observer

i think indef blocks are fine. anyone who truly wants to come back and behave can do so under a new account and just not out themselves; i presume this happens all the time? anyone who wants to create drama is going to do it regardless of whether blocks are limited or unlimited. i've never been blo...

Rational Observer

I don't think any one admin ought to be able to permablock anyone. Only the community or ArbCom should have that ability. "The community" is quite meaningless in this context (if it ever means anything in any context). It would be at most a couple of dozen people who happen to notice the discussion...

Rational Observer

Vigilant wrote:"What's the name of your previous account?" means "Y'all not from 'round here, is ya?"

More like, "what's the name of your previous account" translates to: "I'm concerned that you are showing interest in MY topics and/or friends, and I need a quick way to discredit and shame you into leaving."

Rational Observer

Sorry. As I said I don't have all the background, but how's Jimbo a grifter? That's a perfectly valid question, and evidence that we've not been doing a good job of explaining things that we wish more people would know. Okay, "grifter" means con artist, so how has Jimbo conned anyone? Seems like it...

Rational Observer

Sorry. As I said I don't have all the background, but how's Jimbo a grifter? That's a perfectly valid question, and evidence that we've not been doing a good job of explaining things that we wish more people would know. Okay, "grifter" means con artist, so how has Jimbo conned anyone? Seems like it...

Rational Observer

I don't think any one admin ought to be able to permablock anyone. Only the community or ArbCom should have that ability. "The community" is quite meaningless in this context (if it ever means anything in any context). It would be at most a couple of dozen people who happen to notice the discussion...

Rational Observer

I don't think any one admin ought to be able to permablock anyone. Only the community or ArbCom should have that ability. "The community" is quite meaningless in this context (if it ever means anything in any context). It would be at most a couple of dozen people who happen to notice the discussion...

Rational Observer

If you disagree with me, you're POV-pushing. If I disagree with you, you have issues with neutrality.

Rational Observer

Absent-mindedness was vandalised and nobody has noticed for a month: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Absent-mindedness&type=revision&diff=703605015&oldid=698475405 Maybe some people noticed but forgot to do anything about it? :B' https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Absent-mindedne...

Rational Observer

Or how about a record of who turns up at An/I reports? You could probably show that some accounts do little more than lurk around the peripheries until one of their friends gets into a dispute. At which time they shift into "active" mode until the danger has passed. Besides going through An/I archiv...

Rational Observer

It could be a step in unbundling admin rights, if that ever gets anywhere (which is of course distinctly unlikely). Ordinary admins can only block for a year or two, Permablock being an extra right requiring people to jump through extra hoops. I don't think any one admin ought to be able to permabl...

Rational Observer

I broached this in another thread that has since been locked. http://wikipediocracy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=7382 So I'll try again here. Okay. Maybe not amnesty for the especially terrible editors, but surely many could benefit from periodic amnesty without causing any further disruption. Thi...

Rational Observer

Your right it's not all his fault. However, as the Captain of the ship he controls where the ship goes, how fast and if it runs over the other boaters. Jimbo has been asleep at the Wikipedia wheel for a while now, the ship is out of control and nothing but carnage is left in the wake. That is his f...

Rational Observer

Is it just me, or is this thread veering off topic with these posts about pictures of women in bondage? It certainly speaks to the hostile and sexualized editing environment, but it has nothing to do with Wikispeak. Does it? I ask because I've noticed that some of us get called out for going off to...

Rational Observer

Is it just me, or is this thread veering off topic with these posts about pictures of women in bondage? It certainly speaks to the hostile and sexualized editing environment, but it has nothing to do with Wikispeak. Does it? I ask because I've noticed that some of us get called out for going off top...

Rational Observer

Agree, but I'd add:

If your material follows a source too closely you're committing COPYVIO. If I copy something verbatim from a source it's because sometimes there are only so many ways to say something.

Rational Observer

... In my post I was talking more about odd language than double-speak tactics, but this one hits the nail on the head! I'd add: If I accuse you of socking everywhere you go I'm protecting the project from disruption, but if you reply to any of these accusations in public areas you're wikistalking ...

Rational Observer

"Blocks aren't punitive; they're preventative."

Rational Observer

Earthy Astringent wrote:This topic is problematic.

Oh, that's a real good one! How about, "this editor is exhibiting problematic behavioral patterns"? Is it me, or is most of this average people trying to sound uber-intelligent? If so, it's not working!

Rational Observer

Your right it's not all his fault. However, as the Captain of the ship he controls where the ship goes, how fast and if it runs over the other boaters. Jimbo has been asleep at the Wikipedia wheel for a while now, the ship is out of control and nothing but carnage is left in the wake. That is his f...

Rational Observer

Not sure if this is the correct board, but I wanted to open a thread about how there's a Wikipedia dialect flush with catch phrases and Borg-like, generic assimilation. Some key words and phrases that immediately come to mind include, "best" (e.g., "best to not assign motivation", or "best to keep t...

Rational Observer

The kinds of problems that Wikipedia has are quite common in open source software projects. For example people only doing things they are interested in and neglecting important but tedious work, people arguing endlessly about trivia, and so on. If Jimbo was shipwrecked tomorrow, could we really exp...

Rational Observer

The kinds of problems that Wikipedia has are quite common in open source software projects. For example people only doing things they are interested in and neglecting important but tedious work, people arguing endlessly about trivia, and so on. If Jimbo was shipwrecked tomorrow, could we really exp...

Rational Observer

EDITOR= Giano II; ADMIN= Jimbo Wales; 21:49, 8 February 2009; (Be good) EDITOR= Giano II; ADMIN= Jimbo Wales; 00:24, 23 December 2006; (I fully endorse the previous block, and unblock with a FIRM request for civility going forward) Yes, we obviously need to stamp out the cronyism between Jimbo and ...

Rational Observer

Imagine if we could track spirited defenses. Some admins could be shown to defend a relatively small group of cronies ad infinitum.

Rational Observer

What do you guys think of our article on Ursa Minor?

Ursa Minor (T-H-L)

Seems pretty short for a Featured Article on such an important constellation, and the section on history and mythology looks far short of comprehensive.

Rational Observer

I had an idea that might help discourage cronyism at Wikipedia. What if admins were only allowed to unblock editors one time each? If an admin had previously unblocked you, they would be disallowed from ever doing so again. If this were policy, certain editors would quickly run out of sympathetic a...

Search found 114 matches