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Wikipedia Ideology Project, Mark II

January 27th, 2008 by Herschelkrustofsky

First page from Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, 1776 London editionAt first blush, Wikipedia appears to be a vast, sprawling mélange of competing Points of View, with no particular ordering principle other than a Darwinian “survival of the fittest.” But in viewing the activities of the dominant elites in the Wikipedian hierarchy, or what Jimmy Wales once infamously dubbed “the cabal,” a pattern begins to emerge.

First, let’s consider Wales’ own ideological profile. He is best known as a “Randroid,” an acolyte of quasi-philosopher Ayn Rand. The essential feature of the Randian Weltanschauung is the assertion that efforts to order society through the establishment of governments and constitutions are inherently counter-productive, and that society prospers when such efforts cease. This is similar to the doctrine of the “invisible hand” from Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations: that if governments follow the doctrine of Laissez-faire and avoid any intervention into the economy, the “invisible hand” of the markets will order matters to the benefit of all.

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Posted at 5:57 pm, January 27th, 2008 by Herschelkrustofsky in The Cabal | 3 Comments »

Time to change public opinion of Wikipedia

November 27th, 2007 by thekohser

Something monumentally offensive has happened this week on Wikipedia, and the powers that be are trying to sweep it under the rug. All Wikipedia critics should take this excellent opportunity to write letters to the Editors of their local and regional newspapers, and to contact their elected officials. The public opinion of Wikipedia can and should be changed by these six simple points:

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Posted at 5:43 am, November 27th, 2007 by thekohser in Administrators, Wikimedia Foundation, Wikia, Jimbo Wales, Banned!, Board of Trustees, Critics, Sockpuppets, The Cabal | 4 Comments »

Should we feel sorry for the Jay-man?

August 12th, 2007 by Somey

No, of course not!

That’s the simple answer, at least. After all, Wikipedia’s User:Jayjg is Bad News Personified: He’s a POV-pushin’, article-ownin’, checkuser-abusin’, personal-attackin’ son-of-a-whatever. And what’s more, he does it all completely anonymously. In effect, he’s the epitome of Wikipedia’s most questionable aspects, and yet he can hardly be said to be “getting away with it” - he’s at the center of a disproportionate number of nasty incidents that occur on Wikipedia, embattled, criticized, bashed, and targeted by pro-Wikipedians and anti-Wikipedians alike, on a near-constant basis. Very few people actually like him, sort of in the way nobody ever likes the dictator’s right-hand man, even while everyone seems to think the dictator himself is a “pretty good guy.”

And yet, I can’t help but feel rather sorry for him. Why is that, I ask myself? Read the rest of this entry »