Comments on: Gradual Unveiling #2: Talk amongst ourselves http://williamtozier.com/slurry/2006/10/04/gradual-unveiling-2-talk-amongst-ourselves Pontification without all the gritty gravitas Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:57:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Karen Lofstrom http://williamtozier.com/slurry/2006/10/04/gradual-unveiling-2-talk-amongst-ourselves#comment-3606 Karen Lofstrom Thu, 05 Oct 2006 05:35:47 +0000 http://williamtozier.com/slurry/2006/10/04/gradual-unveiling-2-talk-amongst-ourselves#comment-3606 Those institutional bozos should talk to those of us who have been fighting it out in the trenches of Wikipedia. Throwing a wiki open to every human being with net access is starting to seem increasingly nuts to me -- articles created, torn down, recreated, endlessly. Every new editor to be educated all over again -- and rejecting education, because of course it is his or her Jimbo-given RIGHT to say whatever he or she pleases. Nothing to govern this but an adversarial process that takes months to weed out the trolls. It's educational in a way -- I've learned a great deal about the thought processes of Hindutvadis, Salafis, Shi'a, anti-Muslim bigots, and obsessed fans. But it's exhausting. Restricting a wiki to those with institutional credentials (only those with PhDs and tenure allowed to contribute) also seems like a recipe for inanition. You're going to end up with people saying the "right" things to stay on the right side of those with power. Making it work requires some serious thought about how to run collaborations. I don't think anyone has started to do this yet. I'd like to be wrong. Am I wrong? Those institutional bozos should talk to those of us who have been fighting it out in the trenches of Wikipedia. Throwing a wiki open to every human being with net access is starting to seem increasingly nuts to me — articles created, torn down, recreated, endlessly. Every new editor to be educated all over again — and rejecting education, because of course it is his or her Jimbo-given RIGHT to say whatever he or she pleases. Nothing to govern this but an adversarial process that takes months to weed out the trolls.

It’s educational in a way — I’ve learned a great deal about the thought processes of Hindutvadis, Salafis, Shi’a, anti-Muslim bigots, and obsessed fans. But it’s exhausting.

Restricting a wiki to those with institutional credentials (only those with PhDs and tenure allowed to contribute) also seems like a recipe for inanition. You’re going to end up with people saying the “right” things to stay on the right side of those with power.

Making it work requires some serious thought about how to run collaborations. I don’t think anyone has started to do this yet. I’d like to be wrong. Am I wrong?

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