Will Beback RFC? Options

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Cla68/DR_draft_work_page

[Tarc]

The shower of posthumous barnstars is...interesting.

[SB_Johnny]

The shower of posthumous barnstars is...interesting.

Maybe he should retire to the country, and hang them on his barn. (IMG:smilys0b23ax56/default/smile.gif)

[Cla68]

Will Beback had a number of causes that he pursued in Wikipedia, with the apparent goal, as it is for many Wikipedia editors, of making sure that the "truth" is presented. His targeted topics included LaRouche, Prem Rawat, Transcendental Meditation, the Boy Scouts of America, and conservative American politics and politicians, such as Sarah Palin, among others.

He often did a good job. In fact, I supported his efforts with Prem Rawat because Jossi, a Premmie, was so obviously trying to use Wikipedia to promote Rawat. The problem with Will, however, was that he often took it too far, using whatever tactic and technique was available to him to win a content dispute. That's the reason I got involved in the LaRouche topic, because he and SlimVirgin were pushing the anti-LaRouche POV too hard, and weren't being fair to other editors in that topic who had different ideas or opinions on the topic's content.

This post has been edited by Cla68:

[gomi]

The problem with Will, however, was that he often took it too far, using whatever tactic and technique was available to him to win a content dispute.

I think this is more aptly the problem with Wikipedia. Will McWhinney, or whomever he is, was the creation of a system that is fundamentally broken, at least as applied to writing down objective truth in encyclopedic form. It is prone to manipulation by zealots, and in classic Nietzschean form, when fighting those zealots, if you stare into that abyss, the abyss stares back. In the end, Will's soul (or his Wikipedia tactics and techniques, the wiki equivalent of one) was black as soot. He became worse than all the various partisans, zealots, and nutcases he fought.

I am willing to admit that the underlying intentions of Will Beback, Slim Virgin, and numerous others were sometimes or even frequently laudable, but good intentions implemented with vile means are both unsustainable and insupportable. I've said this to Slim and others in so many words.

Wikipedia will generate more Will Bebacks and the like, and indeed is already generating them. They will be used and abused by that broken system until they are spit out or wise up and quit.

I can't quite feel sorry for Will, he seemed like a grade-A prick, but there you have it. I blame wiki-society (IMG:smilys0b23ax56/default/smile.gif)

[radek]

The problem with Will, however, was that he often took it too far, using whatever tactic and technique was available to him to win a content dispute.

I think this is more aptly the problem with Wikipedia. Will McWhinney, or whomever he is, was the creation of a system that is fundamentally broken, at least as applied to writing down objective truth in encyclopedic form. It is prone to manipulation by zealots, and in classic Nietzschean form, when fighting those zealots, if you stare into that abyss, the abyss stares back. In the end, Will's soul (or his Wikipedia tactics and techniques, the wiki equivalent of one) was black as soot. He became worse than all the various partisans, zealots, and nutcases he fought.

I am willing to admit that the underlying intentions of Will Beback, Slim Virgin, and numerous others were sometimes or even frequently laudable, but good intentions implemented with vile means are both unsustainable and insupportable. I've said this to Slim and others in so many words.

Wikipedia will generate more Will Bebacks and the like, and indeed is already generating them. They will be used and abused by that broken system until they are spit out or wise up and quit.

I can't quite feel sorry for Will, he seemed like a grade-A prick, but there you have it. I blame wiki-society (IMG:smilys0b23ax56/default/smile.gif)

Well, since we're writing eulogies, I'll comment here. I think Gomi's phrase "I think this is more aptly the problem with Wikipedia. " is key. Unlike some of you others here, I've only had two interactions with Will that I can recall and both of them were positive - one was where there was some obnoxious neo-Nazi trying to put in "there was no gas chambers at Auschwitz" into the article, though in a more subtle manner, and playing the whole civil-POV pushing "let's discuss this, come on, why can't we discuss this? If you don't take me seriously you're engaging in personal attacks -Goodwin's Law!!!!!!! - and violating NPOV by not representing my neo-Nazis views adequately" canard.

Nobody else was standing up to this guy and Will showed up and helped out. The other incident was similar but I won't bother with details. But while I appreciated his presence in those particular instances I was quite aware that on other topics he was a ruthless son of a bitch that did his best to stomp on anyone who disagreed with him. It's a little tragic actually, cuz he seems like someone that if he didn't have the power hunger in him could've probably been a force for good. And the power hunger was very much a product of how Wikipedia is set up. Again, I think Gomi's quite right in bringing up the "if you stare into that abyss, the abyss stares back" phenomenon.

Wikipedia, how she exists right now, doesn't just put that abyss out there in front of you - it MAKES you stare into it long and hard. Grabs you by the back of your neck and makes you gaze. It forces anyone who contributes to it over a significant period of time to engage in hypocrisy and "become like the monsters" at one point or another. So the choice is either to tip toe right on that edge of the abyss or fall over to one side - Will Beback ruthlessness - or the other - get your ass banned by speaking too plainly.

It's about as dysfunctional of a website - which unfortunately matters a lot - as an evil demiurge who wanted to tempt otherwise reasonable people into bad deeds with promises of NPOV, "bringing knowledge to children in Africa" and all the other crap, would design. Of course, there is no malevolent spirit behind the outcome, just plain ol' human stupidity, incompetence and a whole bunch of young aggressive idiots who got nothing better to do with their time.