“Wikipedia Is Sexist”, Elisa • The French Exit Options

[Jon Awbrey]

Wikipedia has been on my mind lately, after hearing the statistic passed around a week or so ago that something like 87% of Wikipedia contributors/editors are male. This didn't surprise me in the least, and initially made no impression on me whatsoever. A few days later the obvious consequences of this dawned on me: Wikipedia is sexist. Of course this affects the content. Of course this bias trickles down and bleeds into the articles in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. I wouldn't want to read a magazine if only 1 out of 10 of its editors/contributors were women. Especially if the whole point of the magazine was to present objective, unbiased information in an encyclopedic fashion.

Maybe I'll boycott Wikipedia.

— Elisa Gabbert • 22 Feb 2011

[Milton Roe]

Wikipedia has been on my mind lately, after hearing the statistic passed around a week or so ago that something like 87% of Wikipedia contributors/editors are male. This didn't surprise me in the least, and initially made no impression on me whatsoever. A few days later the obvious consequences of this dawned on me: Wikipedia is sexist. Of course this affects the content. Of course this bias trickles down and bleeds into the articles in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. I wouldn't want to read a magazine if only 1 out of 10 of its editors/contributors were women. Especially if the whole point of the magazine was to present objective, unbiased information in an encyclopedic fashion.

Maybe I'll boycott Wikipedia.

— Elisa Gabbert • 22 Feb 2011

Wikipedia will miss you, Sweetpea. They can tell when you're reading, you know.

I wonder if Elisa, upon finding that 87% of the writers of some publication were WOMEN would also have concluded that it ipso facto it too would have to be "sexist." Probably not. But if she did, she'd probably be right. Depending on your definiton of "sexist." My own preview as to what WP would look like if it were edited by 87% women, is MSN News.

The top 5 stories on today's MSN News:

1. Search: Where Is the 'Next Top Model' Now? Bing: See some of Tyra's fierce shots Bing: How to look like a top model. Watch: Girl rocks Lady Gaga’s latest hit. Video: Cutest Pledge of Allegiance you’ll ever hear

2. Check Out the View: Ultracool Glass Houses.

3. 5-Year-Old Knows What She Wants. Watch: You want to marry this kid when she grows up? Your heart might be broken until she gets one thing first. (Wait for it: she says she needs a job, first. How adorable )

4. Easy & Smart Ways to Whittle Your Waistline: 15 tips to start losing weight fast. Snap decisions that can save you pounds.

5. Latest: Clampdown in Libya & More Protesters


COMMENT: Well, we made it to world events by number 5, at least. This is MSN on estrogen. I suspect this would be WP also, on estrogen. So, what kind of sexism is it, that you want to see? Fewer Powerrangers and Starwars, and more smart style information and children doing cute things? What's the frigging difference?

[Jon Awbrey]

Wikipedia has been on my mind lately, after hearing the statistic passed around a week or so ago that something like 87% of Wikipedia contributors/editors are male. This didn't surprise me in the least, and initially made no impression on me whatsoever. A few days later the obvious consequences of this dawned on me: Wikipedia is sexist. Of course this affects the content. Of course this bias trickles down and bleeds into the articles in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. I wouldn't want to read a magazine if only 1 out of 10 of its editors/contributors were women. Especially if the whole point of the magazine was to present objective, unbiased information in an encyclopedic fashion.

Maybe I'll boycott Wikipedia.

— Elisa Gabbert • 22 Feb 2011

Wikipedia will miss you, Sweetpea. They can tell when you're reading, you know.

And you'll know when we're reading you, too …

Jon

[Jon Awbrey]

Just so everyone understands what's going on here —

A blogger writes a blog post that is critical of Wikipedia, and the very next day our old fiend Fred Bauder ups and starts a BLP on her …

Now, maybe she doesn't know it yet, but that's a hostile act and a threat, not a compliment, and she's just lost her freedom and her peace of mind to a Blog Of Masked Identity Sources (BOMIS). If she knew even a tithe of what we know, she'd immediately seek out a sympathetic admin, get herself declared WP:Unnotable, and continue to seek her notability and her salvation in the Real World.

But will she wise up in time ???

Jon

[Milton Roe]

Just so everyone understands what's going on here —

A blogger writes a blog post that is critical of Wikipedia, and the very next day our old fiend Fred Bauder ups and starts a BLP on her …

Boy, what a nice illustration that BLP is essentially a punitive act, and WP's main weapon of punishment for "RL" people in meat-space.

Perhaps this part of the thread should be annexed, as maybe somebody could point it out to anybody left at ArbCom who has any ethics left, and get Bauder banned.

On second thought, that's probably a waste of time. Just by inspection of my premises.

[Text]

A blogger writes a blog post that is critical of Wikipedia, and the very next day our old fiend Fred Bauder ups and starts a BLP on her …

And in return, someone should tell her why Bauder isn't a lawyer anymore, assuming those are true facts and not just random stuff made for laughs...

This post has been edited by Text: Thu 24th February 2011, 6:46pm

[thekohser]

...not just random stuff made for laughs...

Yeah, state supreme courts intervene in random people's lives, just for giggles.

[Text]

Yeah, state supreme courts intervene in random people's lives, just for giggles.

www.saisathyasai.com/wikipedia/fred bauder court record.html

Ok then

[Jon Awbrey]

Now I know what you're thinking — How come someone as notable as Fred Bauder does not have his own Wikipedia Biography? Just for starters, he is the founder of his very own wiki-style internet encyclopedia, not to mention being a major figure on Wikipedia itself.

If you do search Wikipedia for information, you get only this — Fred Bauder (T-H-L-K-D)

Curious, no?

Jon

[Kelly Martin]

That's some really nasty dirty pool by Fred. The article is fairly clearly crafted to identify her as a search engine optimizer, a category of people that is widely regarded as evil by the people who live in wikispace. This is pretty much as close to being a hatchet job without actually waving the hatchet.

In any responsible organization, this article would not have been published, not without a "living persons" review that would have reduced it to a few telegraphic phrases ("Internet marketer, blogger, and poet residing in Texas" is really all you need) or omitted it entirely. However, Wikipedia is not a responsible organization.

[carbuncle]

Here's a suggestion for Gabbert - go here; post about this episode in the comments (with a link to your blog post, of course); wait for your biography to disappear.

[Jon Awbrey]

I've moved this to the BLP Forum in hopes of getting attention from someone who can do the decent thing about it.

Jon Awbrey

[HRIP7]

I've moved this to the BLP Forum in hopes of getting attention from someone who can do the decent thing about it.

Jon Awbrey

I am not sure how Gabbert views the prospect of having a Wikipedia biography, but I am pretty sure that Fred didn't do it out of malice.

[Kevin]

I've moved this to the BLP Forum in hopes of getting attention from someone who can do the decent thing about it.

Jon Awbrey

It's up to the reasonable folk at WP now - Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Elisa_Gabbert

[Jon Awbrey]

I've moved this to the BLP Forum in hopes of getting attention from someone who can do the decent thing about it.

Jon Awbrey

I am not sure how Gabbert views the prospect of having a Wikipedia biography, but I am pretty sure that Fred didn't do it out of malice.

I always “love” the hypocrisy of Anonymous Cowards who write that kind of BS.

No doubt the AC/BS-er in question is operating under the ludicrous fantasy that he and his whole gang of AC/BS bloggers are some kind of Free Anonymous Press For All Purposes (FAPFAP).

Oh …

Nevermind …

Jon

[Jon Awbrey]

Could a global mod please move this thread back to the Blog Forum?

Or maybe even General Discussion?

There's an ongoing discussion on the original topic that I probably should have left in place.

I can't tell how things will turn out with the BLP issue — we all know how that goes — but I'll sort out the BLP-related posts from the Sexism-related posts as we go.

Thanks,

Jon

[Jon Awbrey]

Elisa,

Returning to the topic at the head of the page, and speaking on behalf of the entire male moiety, I feel a need to clear up a couple of points.

Wikipediot Culture is not male culture, it is not even boy culture — it is obnoxious punk culture. It is simply a sad but perhaps hormonally conditioned fact that adolescent males are over-represented in obnoxious punk culture.

As a result, it is not just the larger share of women who find themselves alienated by Wikipediot Culture — pretty much anyone but obnoxious punks will eventually become alienated by it.

— Jon Awbrey • 24 Feb 2011 (10:00 PM)

[Sylar]

I've moved this to the BLP Forum in hopes of getting attention from someone who can do the decent thing about it.

Jon Awbrey

I am not sure how Gabbert views the prospect of having a Wikipedia biography, but I am pretty sure that Fred didn't do it out of malice.

lol It's funny that people are this dumb.

[Milton Roe]

I've moved this to the BLP Forum in hopes of getting attention from someone who can do the decent thing about it.

Jon Awbrey

I am not sure how Gabbert views the prospect of having a Wikipedia biography, but I am pretty sure that Fred didn't do it out of malice.

lol It's funny that people are this dumb.

Yes it is. Since if somebody ever puts up a bio of Fred, I am pretty sure HE will discover the malice.

[Jon Awbrey]

Since if somebody ever puts up a bio of Fred, I am pretty sure HE will discover the malice.

Well, it's been done already — Fred Bauder (T-H-L-K-D) — but if you're Well-Protected with Wiki-Prophylaxis, you can get yer truth cleaned.

Jon