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A Third of Wikipedia Discussions Are Stuck in Forever Beefs (vice.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Wikipedia, the internet's encyclopedia, is run entirely by volunteers -- people who spend large swaths of their personal time making sure the information that hundreds of millions of people access every day stays accurate and up-to-date. Of those volunteers, 77 percent of Wikipedia articles are written by just one percent of Wikipedia editors. As such, tensions tend to get a little high, because these editors are often highly invested. They've been arguing about corn for nearly a decade, for example, and there's a long-running edit war about the meaning of neuroticism.
When editors disagree about an edit to be made on a Wikipedia article, they start by discussing it on the article's Talk page. When that doesn't result in a decision, they can open a Request for Comment (RfC). From there, any editor can choose a side or discuss the merits of whatever edit is up for discussion, and -- in theory -- come to an agreement. Or at least, some kind of decision about how to make the edit. But a new study by MIT researchers found that as many as one-third of RfC disputes go unresolved, often abandoned out of frustration or exhaustion. The most common sticking points were chalked up to inexperience, inattention from experience editors, and just plain petty bickering.
When editors disagree about an edit to be made on a Wikipedia article, they start by discussing it on the article's Talk page. When that doesn't result in a decision, they can open a Request for Comment (RfC). From there, any editor can choose a side or discuss the merits of whatever edit is up for discussion, and -- in theory -- come to an agreement. Or at least, some kind of decision about how to make the edit. But a new study by MIT researchers found that as many as one-third of RfC disputes go unresolved, often abandoned out of frustration or exhaustion. The most common sticking points were chalked up to inexperience, inattention from experience editors, and just plain petty bickering.
... as someone who has been around a long time, i also see many editors are just more interested in pushing their agenda than in writing the truth. In any area where opinions vary, so like 99.9% of things, editors seem stuck in ONE opinion and push that as absolute truth without even acknowledging that other opinions exist. It seems that even if the concensus of the leaders in a field is one thing, the editors will only present their own opinion ad nauseum and delete discussions of anything else.
"Governments have been dominated by the corporate entities and citizens have ceased to matter in public policy" true in
A person who normally is very cool-headed and objective will still have some topic to which they are emotionally attached.
That emotional attachment warps their cognitive processes to the point where they think they are being totally cool and objective, but they aren't. They will start dropping logical fallacies and engaging in defensive tactics left and right, and have no idea they are doing this. They will even deny it when it is pointed out to them.
Rising above this is very hard. For most people, impossible. That includes 99% of the people reading this and thinking that they are in the 1% who rises above. You don't.
Fully half of Slashdot article comment sections are stuck in Forever Beefs! Step up your game, Wikipedia!
It's been that way for a decade. I gave up trying to contribute long ago.
It's now a battleground, and the winners are the ones who are most persistent.
It's like a home owners association - the place is run by people with not enough to do, and a desire to control others.
No, we are talking about Wikipedia.
I've never seen anyone who is a science attacker ever advance even a remotely feasible or effective alternative. No, obviously faith in God isn't an alternative because faith doesn't teach you about the natural world - honest theologians admit that.
Although I've known more than a few brilliant and competent PhDs, some of the most egregiously ignorant people I have ever known - not stupid, but instead purposely and proudly uninformed - also hold doctorates.
The finger pointing at the moon is not the moon; the paper certifying expertise does not grant or even prove it.