After a recent incident on Wikipedia involving the deletion of an article about NASIOC, I have come to see a whole new side of it. Any respect I had for Wikipedia has pretty much been flushed down the toilet lately.
One argument was brought up during the request for deletion that:
I would disagree with that. After seeing the “back end” of Wikipedia… where these disputes arise and are settled, I think it’s precisely like Myspace. The side that most people see is an encyclopedia… a gathering of information. However on the back side, it seems to be a clique of users who make it into their own little social networking site. A look at user profiles shows “barnstars”, awards, cute little banners about the editor, and other silly stuff you’d expect to find on MySpace, Facebook, or any other social networking site. There are cliques and groups and cabals. It’s even an MMORPG. And from the outside, it gives the impression of a closed society, run by a bunch of insecure nerds who were bullied as children and are looking to wield whatever power they can.
I’ve always thought an online encyclopedia, not bound by the rules of print and the logistics of print distribution, should be inclusionist by nature. Anything and everything should appear in it, as a jumping off source to valid information. But, in the last few days, it appears many of the admins are exclusionary, and prone to delete anything they don’t like and don’t agree with. Of course, they have plenty of rules to back up their cherrypicking. And as always, there are even rules to contradict their rules!
So I wish Wikipedia the best in its ventures. If this is how the site is run, it is doomed to eventual failure. In the meantime, enjoy sniffing your own farts, and the farts of other admins… and I wish to issue the Barnstar of Exclusionism and Mediocrity to all of you brave souls who tirelessly delete and debate what others have created.
