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Posted by: Herschelkrustofsky

The identities of most Wikipedia editors are hidden behind a veil of anonymity. Each contestant adopts a username which becomes his piece in the game.
This practice is very important, because it enables the players to influence the Real World, by shaping the public perception of controversial events, topics and persons, without taking any responsibility for the Real World consequences. Of course, in order to enjoy this totally awesome power, the contestant must control article content in his area of competition. To achieve that objective, he must neutralize his opponents in that arena. One way to do that is by taking away their anonymity, which has come to be called "outing." This can harm ones opponent in any number of ways. It may expose the opponent as a sockpuppeteer, or as a person with Conflict of Interestâ„¢, or it may simply cause sufficient embarrassment or fear of real-life retaliation that the opponent surrenders and leaves Wikipedia.

Wikipedia has policies that discourage this, as well as policies that encourage it, all of which serve to confuse the uninitiated. Tonight we honor two veteran contestants who have participated in "outing" during the past year, one as an "outer," and the other as an "outee." But first, here is a brief guide to Wikipedia policies that bear on the practice:




Of our two leading contestants tonight, one was recently "outed," causing an immense http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?showtopic=35679 because the editor in question had left the project under a cloud due to some very dubious behavior, and then managed to return under a new Secret Identity to become an administrator, a trustee, and generally quite a mover and shaker in the project. He did this, of course, without disclosing his previous questionable activity (some of which involved flying fish, as well as posting some charmingly staged self-portraits.) Our second contestant has http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/TimidGuy_ban_appeal/Evidence#Will_Beback as an "outer," and made the practice one of his http://wikipediareview.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=36639&view=findpost&p=296419. And, we might add, he has also acquired Real Life street cred for his skill, having at one time been named "Outings Chair" for the Gay and Lesbian Sierrans of Los Angeles.

May we have the envelope, please?

The winner of the 2012 "WP:DICK of Distinction" Award is: Fæ!

For security reasons, you must view his Jimbo® statuette in another window: http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/2389/jimbog.jpg

...and the Runner-Up DICK is Will Beback!




Before announcing the rest of our winners, let's take a moment for a special announcement, shall we? We'd like to acknowledge a person who made a unique contribution to the Wikipedia entertainment industry during 2011...



And now for the rest of our honorees:


The winner of the Tag Team Event is Will Beback and his retinue, including Fladrif and MathSci

The winner is Webhamster, a fresh new face in this year's competition.

This event resulted in a tie between Ottava and Will Beback.

The winner is Alison.

The winner is Peter Damian.

The Winner is Ottava, with an honorable mention to Newyorkbrad for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Manipulation_of_BLPs#Final_decision.



Congratulations to all our contestants, and we'll see you next year on the red carpet!

Posted by: Rhindle

Posted by: EricBarbour

With all this, and $3 $5, you can buy a cup of "coffee".

(thanks for doing the legwork, hersh. Hope someone important notices this.)

Posted by: TungstenCarbide

Awesome - thanks Hersh.

Posted by: carbuncle

Congratulations to all of the winners, and a special congratulations to Ottava since this is likely his last year competing (on account of being banned and/or blocked on every project in which he has participated).

Posted by: Peter Damian

Thanks Hersh - very pleased to win an award at least (but JN466 probably deserved it more).

Posted by: Cla68

Nice work and congratulations to the winners!

Posted by: Herschelkrustofsky

Yes -- there are probably a number of others who deserved honorable mentions, but JN in particular.