Benjamin Smith, "Thorncrag"
John Adams

Thoughts on Wikipedia

“Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge.”This is Wikipedia.

This credo is a worthy one; indeed, I am a supporter of Wikipedia, but I also fear for its future for things such as editor attrition which is caused by a complex web of issues, not the least of which is what I perceive to be a failing Wikipedia governance model.

I also fear for Wikipedia when I see veteran editors throw in the towel due to irritating and ridiculous, and completely unnecessary obstructions to fixing things that we feel are broken. Where is our recourse? "File an RfC" and "File an ARBCOM", of course, is a clearly solution to everything on Wikipedia.

What has kept Wikipedia going is the organic nature in which it has blossomed and grown. The community exercises nearly complete control over Wikipedia's direction in a semi-democratic fashion (a deliberative democracy). This is both a blessing and a curse. This model has worked excellently to date, but it is demonstrably breaking down as Wikipedia grows into what I label a hideous bureaucratic nightmare.

Funny stuff

  • [1] ... on the secret life of Thomas the Tank Engine ...
  • [2] ... on Big Bird's night-time occupation ...
  • [3] ... on pickles and cucumbers ...
  • [4] ... here's one die-hard Barney fan ...
  • [5] ... now here's a word from our San Antonio fans ...
  • [6] ... on this exceptional school ...
  • [7] ... ...what? ...
  • [8] ... this edit summary...
  • [9] ... on washing balls ...
  • [10] ... on the dangers of taking advil ...
  • [11] ... on little-known Jesse Ventura facts ...
  • [12] ... on little-known Elizabethtown facts ...
  • [13] ... on the role of peeps and Wikipedia

[10:24pm] Thorncrag: frigging air freshener in the rest room.
[10:25pm] Thorncrag: i leave smelling like a frigging urinal cake.
[10:25pm] jorm: is that because you mistook the urinal cake for
very large breath mint?
[10:26pm] Thorncrag: i just vomited a little in my mouth.

Trinkets

"Experienced Editor, awarded for being a registered editor for at least 1.5 years and making at least 6,000 edits"
This editor is an Experienced Editor and is entitled to display this Service Badge.
Experienced Editor
Experienced Editor
This user is a member on the English Wikipedia.
Unified login: Thorncrag is the unique unified login of this user for all public Wikimedia projects.
This user's IRC nick is Thorncrag on the server irc.freenode.net.
This user has been on Wikipedia for 18 years, 8 months and 20 days.
This user is an advanced MediaWiki software administrator.
This user is a participant in
WikiProject Maine.
This user has
a Golden Retriever.
This user is opposed to the collection of Wikipedia hats.
This user is reasonable and stops assuming good faith when it is no longer warranted.
Quality, not quantity.This user believes that a user's edit count does not necessarily reflect on the value of their contributions to Wikipedia.
This user has a zero tolerance policy on vandalism.
This user quietly contributes to Wikipedia at work.
WTF?This user ALWAYS leaves
an edit summary.
{{tone}}

This user tags articles for maintenance with Twinkle!

This user works in Technical Support.
This user is a professional webmaster.
This user is an aspiring Lawyer

My "stuff"