Wikipedia's fate, How will Wikipedia die? Options

[jsalsman]

Nothing lasts forever, not even the heat death of the universe.

[Bottled_Spider]

I voted for Edit wars will break out into real life because it's the funniest, and there's something so right about it, i.e. I can truly see it happening one day at some Wikipedia convention or other. Editor X, crazed on vodka, caffeine, "pills for his nerves" and adrenaline and tooled-up with a concealed Stanley knife confronts Admin Y and, seething with rage says "48-hour ban, eh? Well, ban this, you kiddy-fiddling fuck!" ......... swiiiiiiiit .........

Blood everywhere. Admin Y's allies, shocked into action, pile into Editor X and pummel him unconscious. X's friends run outside, seeking reinforcements. Entering the convention, Jimbo gets glassed and New York Brad gets a dose of bike-chain across the back of his neck. Chaos and terror ensue. Society crumbles.

Wasn't it Carl von Clausewitz that said "war is the continuation of politics by other means"? Makes sense to me.

[FightingMac]

I voted for Edit wars will break out into real life because it's the funniest, and there's something so right about it, i.e. I can truly see it happening one day at some Wikipedia convention or other.

Yup, glass the bastards and kick their pedo fucknuts into a blood pulp I say.

[EricBarbour]

I voted for Edit wars will break out into real life because it's the funniest, and there's something so right about it, i.e. I can truly see it happening one day at some Wikipedia convention or other.

That would be most amusing, but really, it won't happen. The whole culture of the place is oriented
around backstabbing and manipulation, not confrontation. Basement-dwellers have poor muscle tone
from mass-consuming Cheetos and Jolt Cola, and know damn well that the other guy might kick their
asses good if they picked a real-world fight. So they pull dirty tricks online instead.

That's what an evil patroller is: a hapless nerd, unhealthy and weak, using Wikipedia to have power over others.

Seriously, though, I'm still amazed that someone hasn't walked into a Wikimania with an assault rifle, and
just gone totally berserk. Those fools have stiffed and screwed uncounted thousands of people over the
past 11 years, all over the world. It just takes one Anders Breivik or Seung-Hui Cho to create a massacre.
Why isn't there more out-of-Matrix violence associated with Wikipedia? The only really notorious, dangerous
"stalker" they've had was Amorrow. I defy you to name another one.

A website that millions of people use every day, and they have so few unbalanced enemies and pissed-off
victims willing to come forward, even to simply talk about it? Why?

This post has been edited by EricBarbour:

[Emperor]

A website that millions of people use every day, and they have so few unbalanced enemies and pissed-off
victims willing to come forward, even to simply talk about it? Why?

The reason is the amount of harm they do to heavy users isn't easy to measure. Most heavy users don't even realize that they are being harmed.

Those who come to their senses are usually embarrassed about wasting years of their life playing a less-fun computer game than WoW.

[FightingMac]

... Those who come to their senses are usually embarrassed about wasting years of their life playing a less-fun computer game than WoW.

I thinks that's right. A bit like smoking dope. Somethoing you do at college and maybe for a while after if you're hooked on it sexually (come on Timothy L ... we do all know, jacking and dope go together as naturally as crackers and cheese), but most eventually give up on it by their early thirties, the ones who carry on basically just wankers.

Wikipedia is now in the hands of college jerks, of that familiar rather earnest sort not especially talented in their studies and lacking social skills. We do all know that too. No mature adult would want to get involved in its administration presently and all its prattish dramas. Of course there are content providers out there still churning out the technical stuff about the Rimann Zeta Hypothesis and other uncontoversial content, but once you're into James Blunt territory you are talking Junior High and college jerks, presided over perhaps by some ageing ga-ga who probably does still do dope. like medicinally of course.

But what Eric says is right I think. I do think that might just happen.

[DoctorHver]

I voted for other because it will probably be few of those opions factoring to gether or all or goverment finally coming to there sense and ban the website.