On the Varieties of Hypo- & Pseudo-Criticism, With Passing Reference to Pseudencyclopediae Options Rating

[Jon Awbrey]

The recent inflush of pseudencyclopædiots to our commodious vicinitudes is currently generating ever more effluvious volumes of That Which Affects To Care About Critical Knowledge (WP:TWATCACK) than The Wikipedia Review has ever had to sift before.

The time is then ripe — overripe I say — to solve and coagulate from the e-maelstrom of encroaching mire the more recurrent rimes of non-sense that threaten to engulf our critical faculties with the absusurrations of their unyielding irrationality.

Jon

[GlassBeadGame]

The recent inflush of pseudencyclopædiots to our commodious vicinitudes is currently generating ever more effluvious volumes of That Which Affects To Care About Critical Knowledge (WP:TWATCACK) than The Wikipedia Review has ever had to sift before.

The time is then ripe — overripe I say — to solve and coagulate from the e-maelstrom of encroaching mire the more recurrent rimes of non-sense that threaten to engulf our critical faculties with the drone of their unyielding irrationality.

Jon

Hard to know what to do. The problem is that a very significant number of the "users" of WR are either outright pro-Wikipedians here to sabotage critique or have such a watered down notion of what "critique"ought to consist of that they might as well be here to sabotage the place. In the past this has been addressed by cyclical confrontations of the pro-Wkipedians by the "hardliners" and serious critics in which the pro-Wikipedians have been more or less put down. But there is no denying that with each cycle the influx of pro-Wikipedians increases and there is certainly no guarantee that they won't eventually overwhelm the place once and for all.

In any event more or less serious criticism has had a good run on the review and I'm certainly grateful for having had the chance to learn from the likes of yourself, Brandt, Kato, Kelly, even Moulton on a good day, as well as the current staff/mods and those pro-Wikipedians of good faith who have engaged in debate on an honest level.

[thekohser]

1. Wikipedia is ever improving.
2. Wikipedia is better than dusty, old reference books, because you can update it instantly.
3. Wikipedia is great in spite of any faults one might find in the WMF management.
4. Some of Wikipedia is a bit problematic, but most of it is awesome.

This post has been edited by thekohser: Sun 7th June 2009, 5:20pm

[Jon Awbrey]

Critique of Pseudo-Criticism

It is not unusual for an aim-imputing membership to claim a power of self-sufficient self-regulation.

And it is not unusual for an aim-imputing membership to fall short of the power it needs to succeed.

That much is generic —

The manifestly hopeless case of Wikipedia becomes less interesting with every passing day, as does the chance that The Wikipedia Review will ever pull itself out of Wikipedia's own doomed orbit, but perhaps there are a few things worth saying that might serve to inform future attempts at building online reference works.

Jon

[dtobias]

The recent inflush of pseudencyclopædiots to our commodious vicinitudes is currently generating ever more effluvious volumes of That Which Affects To Care About Critical Knowledge (WP:TWATCACK) than The Wikipedia Review has ever had to sift before.

As opposed to the serious, useful stuff like quotes from James Joyce, and even bad song parodies.

[Jon Awbrey]

1. Wikipedia is ever improving.
2. Wikipedia is better than dusty, old reference books, because you can update it instantly.
3. Wikipedia is great in spite of any faults one might find in the WMF management.
4. Some of Wikipedia is a bit problematic, but most of it is awesome.

Thanks for getting it.

The Bits Of Old Song And Dance (WP:BOOSAD) I seem to be hearing the most these days are the subliminal sorts of hooks that none of the old song and dancers quite manage to recall in so many words — even the biggest knee-jerks among them would probably be brought up short by the absurdity of their own gesticulations if ever they became the least bit conscious of the tunes they were dancing to — but it's a sure sign of pseudo-critique in the air when you find yourself half-consciously humming Golden Oldies like these:

• Wikifiddling While Rome Burns
• Adolf Had A Few Good Ideas
• Deck Chairs On The Titanic

Jon