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> Wikipedia Culture : How Like A Cult, Single Mad Belief? Mental Cul-De-Sac?
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Peter Damian
post Fri 4th April 2008, 8:15am
Post #1


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Eric Barbour's experience needs spelling out, because it is fundamental, and explains why Wikipedia is a cult. All cults have a single belief which is completely mad. Everything is they believe is quite logical and rational, except for the single mad belief. Marxists have the thing about the explanation of history. Scientologists have the 'Thetan' theory of the origin of evil.

All the evil things that a cult does can be explained by their belief in this single mad thing.

In the case of Wikipedia, the mad belief is that good articles arise from the efforts of hundreds or thousands of individual nameless editors. This is despite all evidence to the contrary that each good article is the work of one or two editors who have special or unique expertise in their subject area.

This explains all the evil that has arisen. The cult belief naturally irritates the editors who have contributed the good articles. They get no special status on the project. Look at the way Giano has been treated. It also explains the obsession with 'civility'. Clearly there are problems at the moment (witness Giano again). But the obvious explanation has to be ruled out, because it contradicts the cult belief. Therefore the explanation has to be 'incivility'. Incivility is not the symptom of the Wikipedia problem, it is the cause of it. Therefore good editors must be evicted, because they are harming the project. They can be replaced, because the progress of the encylopedia depends not on individuals, but the wisdom of the crowd. And they must be replaced, because their uncivil behaviour is preventing this progress.
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Posts in this topic
Peter Damian   Wikipedia Culture : How Like A Cult   Fri 4th April 2008, 8:15am
dtobias   I don't think that explains all of the WikiCli...   Fri 4th April 2008, 12:12pm
Peter Damian   I don't think that explains all of the WikiCl...   Fri 4th April 2008, 12:25pm
Jonny Cache   I don't think that explains all of the WikiCl...   Fri 4th April 2008, 1:00pm
Milton Roe   I don't think that explains all of the WikiCl...   Fri 4th April 2008, 9:30pm
Herschelkrustofsky   [quote name='dtobias' post='90369' date='Fri 4th ...   Sat 5th April 2008, 12:04am
wikiwhistle   I would be cautious in presenting Rick Ross as an...   Sat 5th April 2008, 12:22am
NotARepublican55   I don't think that explains all of the WikiCl...   Thu 11th March 2010, 8:28am
UseOnceAndDestroy   The cult analogy has been raked over many times, b...   Fri 4th April 2008, 3:39pm
Peter Damian   would lead you to classify most organisations wit...   Fri 4th April 2008, 4:23pm
Somey   The "single mad belief" thing is pedestr...   Fri 4th April 2008, 5:56pm
Jonny Cache   The "single mad belief" thing is pedes...   Fri 4th April 2008, 6:12pm
wikiwhistle   This is my favoured description of what makes a gr...   Fri 4th April 2008, 3:59pm
jorge   Chilling   Fri 4th April 2008, 4:22pm
Maju   This is my favoured description of what makes a g...   Tue 15th July 2008, 3:02am
jch   Very scary but real too. Maybe a couple of points...   Wed 16th July 2008, 7:46am
Maju   Very scary but real too. Maybe a couple of point...   Wed 16th July 2008, 9:31pm
dtobias   Doesn't basing things on Objectivist fundament...   Fri 4th April 2008, 7:04pm
Somey   Doesn't basing things on Objectivist fundament...   Fri 4th April 2008, 7:05pm
Jonny Cache   Doesn't basing things on Objectivist fundame...   Fri 4th April 2008, 7:32pm
Castle Rock   User Andries, who actually was in a cult, wrote an...   Sat 5th April 2008, 12:20am
Jonny Cache   Could I Have A Single Malt Scotch Instead? Jonny ...   Sat 5th April 2008, 1:54am
Milton Roe   Could I Have A [size=3][b]Single Malt Scotch Inst...   Sat 5th April 2008, 2:31am
Ed Poor   Eric Barbour's experience needs spelling out,...   Sun 6th April 2008, 9:31pm
Derktar   [quote name='Peter Damian' post='90345' date='Fri...   Sun 6th April 2008, 9:33pm
Somey   The legendary Ed Poor! Welcome to WR. Indeed...   Sun 6th April 2008, 9:39pm
Jon Awbrey   The legendary Ed Poor! Welcome to WR. Inde...   Sun 6th April 2008, 9:58pm
Peter Damian   Geogre has a nice analysis of this here: http://e...   Mon 7th April 2008, 8:12am
Docknell   Eric Barbour's experience needs spelling out,...   Thu 17th July 2008, 8:20am
Mr. Mystery   i wandered into my local public library today, and...   Tue 16th September 2008, 6:50pm
Jon Awbrey   I wandered into my local public library today, an...   Tue 16th September 2008, 7:42pm
Mr. Mystery   I'm no particular fan of Ayn Rand, but it wo...   Wed 17th September 2008, 5:10am
Docknell   I'm no particular fan of Ayn Rand, but it w...   Wed 17th September 2008, 6:28am
GlassBeadGame   I am surprised that something very much like a rel...   Wed 17th September 2008, 12:38pm
Jon Awbrey   I am surprised that something very much like a re...   Wed 17th September 2008, 12:42pm
GlassBeadGame   [quote name='GlassBeadGame' post='130287' date='W...   Wed 17th September 2008, 1:02pm
Jon Awbrey   [quote name='GlassBeadGame' post='130287' date='...   Wed 17th September 2008, 1:26pm
dtobias   When excommunicated Objectivist Nathaniel Branden ...   Tue 16th September 2008, 7:52pm
Cla68   When excommunicated Objectivist Nathaniel Branden...   Wed 17th September 2008, 1:16am
Jon Awbrey   All cults have a single belief which is completel...   Tue 7th October 2008, 2:10am
Moulton   There is indeed a Single Mad Belief, but it's ...   Tue 7th October 2008, 3:24am
Jon Awbrey   There is indeed a Single Mad Belief, but it's...   Tue 7th October 2008, 4:02am
emesee   I did not see this. I must admit I am bit surprise...   Tue 11th November 2008, 2:50am
Jon Awbrey   I found this thread where we already had a fairly ...   Fri 6th March 2009, 3:26am
Moulton   My single mad belief is that humans are capable of...   Fri 6th March 2009, 3:30am
Jon Awbrey   My single mad belief is that humans are capable o...   Fri 6th March 2009, 4:32am
Jon Awbrey   Cults have periodically erupted into public notice...   Fri 6th March 2009, 5:34pm
Milton Roe   The research that I had long been pursuing into t...   Fri 6th March 2009, 6:45pm
GlassBeadGame   I think the central aspect of a cult is that it is...   Fri 6th March 2009, 6:04pm
EricBarbour   It only takes one aggressive, bipolar personality ...   Sat 7th March 2009, 10:15pm
Kato   Make no mistake--Bill Gates would have gone nowher...   Sat 7th March 2009, 11:48pm
GlassBeadGame   Make no mistake--Bill Gates would have gone nowhe...   Sun 8th March 2009, 12:00am
EricBarbour   Read [url=http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Valley-Makin...   Mon 9th March 2009, 9:16am
emesee   It seems a bit to secular to be labeled a cult, or...   Mon 9th March 2009, 5:29am
Herschelkrustofsky   But then again, is atheism and secularism just an...   Mon 9th March 2009, 2:45pm
Jon Awbrey   I have a suggestion for how to answer the ever-po...   Mon 9th March 2009, 2:58pm
Herschelkrustofsky   Therefore, a good test of whether a movement is ...   Mon 9th March 2009, 3:11pm
Jon Awbrey   [quote name='Jon Awbrey' post='160341' date='Mon ...   Mon 9th March 2009, 4:44pm
Moulton   Sound familiar, Jon?   Mon 9th March 2009, 5:32pm
Jon Awbrey   Sound familiar, Jon? I started to write a resp...   Tue 10th March 2009, 3:48am
emesee   You all know. I think we all have seen that poster...   Tue 10th March 2009, 6:33am
Somey   You all know. I think we all have seen that poster...   Wed 11th March 2009, 5:44pm
Jon Awbrey   [quote name='emesee' post='160498' date='Tue 10th...   Thu 12th March 2009, 2:42am
Moulton   [img]http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss273/met...   Thu 12th March 2009, 4:27am
Jon Awbrey   The whole thing about being a true believer is ho...   Mon 25th January 2010, 2:00pm
Jon Awbrey   We've been seeing some examples recently of wh...   Thu 15th July 2010, 1:32am
Jon Awbrey   If, as Bain is said to have said, a belief is that...   Fri 23rd July 2010, 2:08am
Avirosa   At the risk of dragging this thread into the realm...   Fri 23rd July 2010, 11:10am
Jon Awbrey   At the risk of dragging this thread into the real...   Fri 23rd July 2010, 11:20am
Kelly Martin   The key component of cultic groups which distingui...   Fri 23rd July 2010, 11:57am
Moulton   Attachment is the Root of All Suffering --[url=htt...   Fri 23rd July 2010, 11:43am
Somey   Well, it seems to me that Mr. Virosa was merely ag...   Sat 24th July 2010, 6:33am
Avirosa   Well, it seems to me that Mr. Virosa was merely a...   Sat 24th July 2010, 8:38am
Peter Damian   Well what about this http://ragesoss.com/blog/2010...   Sat 24th July 2010, 8:54am
Avirosa   Well what about this [url=http://ragesoss.com/blo...   Sun 25th July 2010, 9:39am
Cock-up-over-conspiracy   ... but IMO the sensory load needed to support th...   Sun 25th July 2010, 3:57pm
privatemusings   'Wikipedia Culture : How Like A Cult' - qu...   Sat 24th July 2010, 9:16am
Moulton   'Wikipedia Culture : How Like A Cult' - qu...   Sat 24th July 2010, 10:09am
Jon Awbrey   Moderator's Note. The title that Peter Damian...   Sat 24th July 2010, 2:30pm
Jon Awbrey   As for the rest of Amanita's Angelic Deconstru...   Sat 24th July 2010, 3:32pm
Jon Awbrey   By Way Of Orientation (WR:BWOO) coerce vt coercē...   Sun 25th July 2010, 3:00pm
Jon Awbrey   Just for the eddyfixion of those mush(room)heads w...   Sun 25th July 2010, 3:59pm
thekohser   The topic of "collective effervescence" ...   Mon 26th July 2010, 2:27am
Jon Awbrey   I continue to continue … Having survived the Cu...   Mon 26th July 2010, 1:26pm
Jon Awbrey   Here's one place in my “Inquiry Into Inquiry...   Mon 26th July 2010, 2:14pm
thekohser   I'm no expert on cults, but isn't it anoth...   Tue 3rd August 2010, 6:05pm
ulsterman   I'm no expert on cults, but isn't it anot...   Tue 3rd August 2010, 8:52pm
Cock-up-over-conspiracy   I'm no expert on cults, but isn't it anoth...   Tue 3rd August 2010, 11:26pm


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