NYB on The Volokh Conspiracy, Some First Thoughts on Wikipedia Options

[tarantino]

http://www.volokh.com/posts/1242098183.shtml

Ira requests:

I make only one request: that regular Wikipedians who are looking over my shoulder, as well as Wikipedia critics from Wikipedia Review and elsewhere, bear in mind that this is a general-interest audience. Please don't hijack the comment threads with our own internal disputes and debates. No one here wants to read who is a sockpuppet of whom or whether so-and-so's block was fair or not. We have ANI and Wikipedia Review to hash those things out later.

[Daniel Brandt]

I thought NYB would realize that his choice is to either put his real name on his user page, or see his real name on hivemind along with his law firm's name. But he continues to equivocate and obfuscate. Therefore, he's back on hivemind.

When he puts his real name on his user page it will come off of hivemind. That's in his interest, because then his law firm's name won't show up in Google by virtue of his association of Wikipedia.

Same for Cool_Hand_Luke — put your real name on your user page and you can come off of hivemind. I believe in equal treatment for all of Jimbo's arbcom lackeys.

Neither NYB nor his law firm will rank as well they could on Google until I initiate further Google-manipulation techniques, which won't happen unless I get pissed off more than I am at the moment. If anyone has a problem with this, please send your complaints to Google!

[CharlotteWebb]

When he puts his real name on his user page it will come off of hivemind. That's in his interest, because then his law firm's name won't show up in Google by virtue of his association of Wikipedia.

If your goal is to hold him personally "accountable" why is the name of his employer relevant?

[the_undertow]

When he puts his real name on his user page it will come off of hivemind. That's in his interest, because then his law firm's name won't show up in Google by virtue of his association of Wikipedia.

If your goal is to hold him personally "accountable" why is the name of his employer relevant?

1. Brandt does things arbitrarily.
2. He feels morally compelled to inform Brad's clients that their attorney may be spending billable hours editing Wikipedia.

I really can't believe we are back at this again.

[dtobias]

1. Brandt does things arbitrarily.
2. He feels morally compelled to inform Brad's clients that their attorney may be spending billable hours editing Wikipedia.

A more succinct way of putting it is "Brandt is a dick."

[GlassBeadGame]

1. Brandt does things arbitrarily.
2. He feels morally compelled to inform Brad's clients that their attorney may be spending billable hours editing Wikipedia.

A more succinct way of putting it is "Brandt is a dick."

I don't like Brandt's constantly changing and contingent standards for Hivemind. It would be better if as an a person of authority on WP NYB was simply listed in the same manner as anyone else. But holding Brandt to any standard or measure based on a WP essay is pretty lame.


(Not directed at Dan) Any claims that NYB bills clients for on wiki time is baseless and not supported by any evidence whatsoever. I don't believe that Brandt has ever asserted this.

[zvook]

(Not directed at Dan) Any claims that NYB bills clients for on wiki time is baseless and not supported by any evidence whatsoever. I don't believe that Brandt has ever asserted this.

I haven't seen him do so either. But people do goof off on company time, which is to me morally acceptable and one of the decent arguments for pseudonymity, assuming said pseudonym isn't fucking up on BLPs (and without prejudice to the argument that to contribute is to fuck up). Not everyone can be self-employed, comfy academics, retirees or otherwise freed from the encumbrances of The Man.

Speaking of which, to go back for a moment to the politics of the blog, I would call it right-wing, since it hosts the kind of libertarians who value the freedom of money to travel but not people, the freedom of corporations but not (the "un-ownability" of) the environment, the freedom to invade other countries, and ergo the freedom to vote for the last president twice, as main man Eugene did. They always seem a funny kind of libertarians to me. And the commentators reflect the readership, present company excluded of course. Eugene is often reasonable enough, though this thrilling foray into speculative fiction for nationalreviewonline was not his finest hour.