Now that New_Age is totally changed like Reader's Digest condensed books, I'm getting a fresh look at the effects of the scalpel in wiki surgery. Right now, I like it ! Mainly I appreciate the cleanup because of a fundamental New Age concept, which insists that the Truth is always simple. Why would the Truth about any subject be anything else but ? Think about it. ~BF You know Cunct, you really need to leave well enough alone. I abandoned New_Age article once everyone seemed to be happy with you over-write. Now you aren't satisfied with winning, and you need to put the deleted New_Age/Talk[?] back in as New_Age/OldTalk[?]. Are you out of your mind or can't you read ? I purposely erased the old content because new viewers really don't need to see the soap opera surrounding this topic(or any for the record I have contributed to, and seen you rub your vanilla icing over it and everyone dips in and says it tastes just right). Goldilocks, find another writer to imposes your standards on please ! I dread how you will trash an idea I have about writing an in-depth on the deceased "godfather of New Age" Carlos Castaneda. Perhaps you will get your rocks off like you do all over wiki by ruining each film you review. ~BF I swear to god you better be paying Larry Sanger to allow your intellectual property rapes to continue.
Larry I am sorry to be argumentative, but I have seen a person whom you apparently appreciate here as an unofficial editor(whose name begins with a C) edit every page I worked hours on, and then when this un-named "C" finishes, everyone's happy ! Why is this a collaborative effort when the winning run goes to those "We who edit the most and delete most without end win". I really think you need to warn people who are simply embedded in their own scheme of how this pedia should look, and tell them to take a vacation. Would you mind reviewing this "C's" edit record and correlate how much irritation and even apathy this creates ? DO you want articles or do you want censorship ? Thanks. ~ BF
Then: The Cunctator/How to destroy Wikipedia October 19, 2001 12:07 am
See also: How to be complete oblivious to irony[?]
Manning, calm down.
And everyone doesn't like the National Guard. A lot of people don't like the existence of a standing federal army...they actually usually prefer militias. And people didn't much like the National Guard when they killed college students in the '60s.
Manning: I tried to exercise "editorial authority" by starting pages, intended as neutral, community-determined entries, on page deletion policy, what Wikipedia considers vandalism, and how Wikipedia uses the GFDL. LMS deleted or discouraged all of those entries. It is simply false that "no one will stop you".
LDC: Actually, I just had a transplant. I wanted to replace my Farrelly Brothers[?] sense of humor with an dry Black Adder sense of humor--I read Maxim and they said that's what people were doing these days. I had to make a special trip to Sweden to do this; I got to meet the donor, who didn't seem very funny, just odd. (He said things like "I wish I could afford to wear your clothes," but I was just wearing my acid-washed, elastic-waist-band jeans and "98 Degrees World Tour" t-shirt--it's not like they were expensive! Weird.) The doctors said the transplant was a success, even though once I got back home people have accused me of not having a sense of humor. I'm starting to suspect they bilked me. This is the last time I trust Swedes.
STG--That's a fair interpretation of the situation.. Feel free to disagree.
I just think this is a mediocre idea,
poorly presented,
which will encourage the type of communal behavior which usually leads to the stanching of creativity and communication.
The characterization of high traffic as an "invasion", a "major disaster", "war", etc. that "old hands" have to combat is detrimental.
Wikipedia shouldn't need a "defense force". It doesn't need to be "defended".
Wikipedia, by its very nature, I believe, is robust and indestructible.
When Wikipedia started, people wouldn't assert, as Manning has now done, that there's a "central authority structure".
I think that's too bad--since I believe that there are alternate organizational/societal models which would be successful and be more distributed--but I'm not losing sleep over it.
Centralized structures scale with difficulty; the only way we humans have found to do that is to increase the amount of regulation in the system, by making new rules and conventions and more strictly enforcing such rules. We've also found that such centralized systems can remain flexible, adaptive, and competitive if accountability/content neutrality is enforced at all levels; for example, the United States has the First Amendment, the Freedom of Information Act, separation of powers in the federal government, and dual sovereignty (federal and state), etc.; corporations have SEC filings, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, etc. Neither system is perfect, but the flaws usually come from failing to ensure accountability/competition/content neutrality, e.g. keeping secrets, introducing policies of bias, and punishing dissent.
Thus, in short, I have two motivations: 1) promote a distributed trust/responsibility model (which scales well) as opposed to a centralized authority model (which doesn't)
and 2) promote accountability mechanisms. I think that LMS would best show leadership by doing these things too; he's choosing a different model.
I don't think he's trying to be a dictator or an autocrat.
That LMS did it, is in my mind, only an ancillary issue.
If someone else had presented the idea, I would have thought the same thing. The only difference is that his ideas are official policy once they're written, whereas other's ideas (e.g. mine; say "Project Sourceberg") aren't. And that's fine.
But it does mean that his actions, with respect to the future and nature of Wikipedia, are of an entirely different nature from everyone else's.
If it were anyone else, I would have just edited the entry mercilessly, instead of commenting on it. Please understand this. --TheCunctator
From /Talk summary December 7, 2001 5:21 pm
From /Talk summary December 7, 2001 9:03 pm
Cunctator, why do you have to make an issue of virtually every time I have exerted any significant amount of authority at all? --LMS
I want to make a comment about something I did, very deliberately, on the "page titles which have been deleted" page (http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/Wikipedia_utilities/Page_titles_which_have_been_deleted). The Cunctator, for some strange reason, saw fit to list all the pages of his that were deleted by me on (he says, and I suppose it's true) Nov. 3. Among these pages was--he invites you to consider the delicious irony--"Page titles which have been deleted". I do not actually find that ironic at all. I find this to be a perfect example of the not-very-subtle trolling that C. continues to practice here.
This pointless game-playing, Cunctator, has to stop. It obviously doesn't help the project. Don't you care about that? If you're still bothered, let's talk about it openly, not by playing these sort of games. If you can't let it drop, let's talk about it. Your edits, such as putting the pages of yours that I deleted on the "page titles which have been deleted" page, indicate that you are deeply disturbed about how I have treated you. Let's get it out in the open, then.
In the interests of full disclosure, on said page, in the version that it seems I deleted, he originally listed a number of pages that I deleted. It was, along with his "reasons for deletion" page and his additions to the "vandalism" pages, essentially a way for him to point out the awful, awful insult and harm that was done to him by my--what?--by my removing his archive of vandalism from his personal pages! That's what started all of this. Pretty ridiculous, isn't it?
Come on. We have better things to do with our time. Don't we? --Larry Sanger
Larry Sanger:
I agree. I think that the Cunctator is one person you have to watch like
a hawk, however, and he of all people has no moral right to say what he is
saying here.
Re a recent user's subpage deletion by yours truly (it was a catalog of quotations by me that were critical of him): ahh, that was enormously satisfying. :-) --Larry_Sanger
We have run into at least one character similar to 24 in the past - Cunctator. (Although 24 seems worse). That is - a person who is clearly quite intelligent, capable of making very worthwhile contributions at times, but frequently unable to distinguish between the encyclopedia agenda and their personal agenda.
The solution to 24 is probably the same as with Cunctator - the silent ignore and passive editing approach. Maveric has tried to reason with 24 repeatedly, but when reason is clearly failing there is nothing else to do but protect the project.
As much as people seem to hate admitting it- there is a "cabal" in operation at the Wikipedia. However, rather than being some secretive and exclusive operation, it is a freely admissive assembly: Live by the rules and you're in.
AstroNomer:
I deleted the "September 11, 2201 Terrorist
Attack/World economic effects" page.
It had an history of one line, "script conversion",
and its content was "This page doesn't exist anymore"
or something like that (you can see the log).
Why can that be needed? Even if we want the article,
a link with a ? is more useful than that "article". Should I have waited for a vote on "that"?
The Cunctator:
Yes. Or something, because it caused unecessary consternation
(in me) since I didn't know why the page was deleted. This page's history should be restored (go Brion Vibber!) so we can find out what happened to the article. It's definitely a worthy topic, in any case...
Thanks for the explanation. There should be a better mechanism for explaining why a page like that is deleted.
Lee Daniel Crocker:
I think you are alone in that response, Cunc. The rest of us are
willing to put a little faith in the other sysops that when they
delete a page, it really deserved it, and there's no use agonizing
over what might have been. I don't want sysops burdened with
having to explain themselves all the time, or having to put to vote
the simple deletion of complete nonsense. We have work to do here.
Just do it, and don't look back.
For a change, I agree with all that Cunc is saying here. Brion Vibber
Cunctator, I think it has been discussed enough. This is not an encyclopedia article. Period. It may be the most popular page in the web, but I don't care. We are building an encyclopedia here and this doesn't belong here. If we want popular pages, we should stop this project and start a porno website. We could even earn some money, then. Jeronimo
I ain't heard nobody but Cunc object so far, and he doesn't say why. I await the reasons with bated breath, if he's got something better than "the English Wikipedia needs a large pool of people working on it to achieve neutrality and perspective, but I apparently don't give a rat's ass about the contents of Wikipedia in other languages" to show for it. Brion Vibber
From Wikipedia-L (http://www.nupedia.com/pipermail/wikipedia-l/2002-October/005922):
I really hate saying this, but, um, I'm with Cunc here. Lee Daniel Crocker
[http://www.nupedia.com/pipermail/wikipedia-l/2002-October/005939 Wikipedia-L]:
For someone who says that "more effort should be put into building the cross-link capabilities" and "there should be the option of having Recent Changes show changes from any array of the languages", you're putting an awful lot of effort into stalling useful work to those ends by yakking on over this tiny thing.
We're all concerned with abuses of authority.
Cunc merely has a different definition to everyone else.
And other people here will leave if decisions are never made. Let me make a request now for people to say so if they would leave if TC were really able to veto every decision ever made about Wikipedia. I'll bet that this request gets a response ^_^.
After Danny wrote this:
Hi
I never wanted to use my block function, but I did. 66.57.25.123 just vandalized an article and posted a threat. Was that the correct response, or should that user be unblocked.
Danny
I responded:
I'm confused. If you never wanted to use your block function, then why did you? Admit that you wanted to use it.
And why, if you have questions about whether you did the right thing, did you do it before checking with others?
Don't be wishy-washy.
which invited these reponses:
Are we still looking for things on which you're the sole voice of dissent?
and
And why, Cunctator, if you're such an asshole, do you continue to infect the world with your existence?
My reply:
That's a leading question. Why do you assert I'm such an asshole?
Thusly:
Toby, that was a smelly thing to say.
And Cunct, please stop being such a prick.
(signed) a man with a "poor" sense of humor
and
Now, now. Cunctator, Toby. Both of you have used the word "asshole". You're even now, so cut the crap.
and
I like how you copied down even the word "such". It contributes to the impression that you're a bot. (Eliza would have copied down the word "such" just like that. Actually, Eliza would have refused to talk about herself, but switch pronouns and then it works.)
Anyway, I didn't support the statement, because it was based directly on the content that I provided. And it's a subjective judgement, I can't argue for it rationally. (Also, I doubt that they would want to read such an argument.) Let each person that read that context make up their own mind.
Of course, if your subjective judgement is different from mine, then how can I expect you to answer my question? But I don't expect that at all; it was a rhetorical question. No response is required of you (the less the better, in fact).
then
Y'know what? I was just about to ask if Cunctator was a Turing device. His responses sound just like a bot parroting back questions.
and
Cunctator, it seems to me that you don't care that you have alienated, put off, not just Toby and Gareth but a large number of people on the project. This is upsetting people on the list, and for good humor among these key project participants, I'd like to ask you publicly to *start* caring, and to *stop* taking yourself so damn (sorry) seriously.
Larry (who I'm *sure* Cunc will listen to on this)
"And Cunct, please stop being such a prick."
Left to his devices, "the cuncator" would appear to want to "cuncate" Bibles into Cliff notes. -'Vert
The Cungcator is right about one thing: 'There are no guarantees."-Stevertigo
I uberunderstand - the Cungcator is bold in his bogus assertions, these days isnt he? -Stevertigo
For once, I agree with Cunctator.
Toe to toe with the Cunctator - not!
I'd love to turn this mailing list into a debate forum, and I consider it an honor to have attracted the attention of such an awesome exponent of personal liberty as the Cunctator.
But Jimbo would probably not like it.
So I guess I'll just get back to work.
Pacifically,
Cunctator has already stated previously that he does not believe in consensus, and will do whatever he damn well pleases.
Our curmudgeon
Oh, dry up. You always say this or that doesn't belong on the mailing list, and then you turn around and say that we *didn't discuss* things enough, like the slogan naming policy.
I don't mind your being curmudgeon -- we need at least one! -- but would you please do it in a consistent way?
Since Cunctator will do whatever he damn well pleases, what's the point of discussing anything here? -- Zoe
RK wrote:
I am apalled by Fred Bauder's personal attacks on me. He claimed to have read the Talk page for the Idolatry article, yet in point of fact Fred Bauder failed to mention all of the flames that "Dietary Fiber" write about to me, Fred failed to mention the fact that Dietary Fiber is on some quest to attack my personal religious beliefs (which is blatantly inappropriate on Wikipedia); Fred "overlooked" the forged quote, and then Fred only quoted my response to the trolling...and then stated that _I_ should be put on some sort of watch.
I am saddened by his behaviour. If Fred Bauder cannot control himself, let him go elsewhere until he calms down. Some of us have serious work to do.
I responded:
Oh, please. Fred quoted actual material, while RK characterizes other people's comments as "personal attacks", "flames", and "trolling", without making direct quotes.
It is not standard Wikipedia policy to move discussion from entry pages to user pages; it's not necessarily wrong to do so, but in the case of the text RK moved (/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Dietary_Fiber&oldid=8 09427), the text is clearly in context and impersonal, and RK's action was inappropriate.
Then RK seemed to get a bee in his bonnet for DF's paraphrase of RK's statement
with this statement (by DF)
which certainly seems to be a fair paraphrase--though the quotes shouldn't have been there. Then the discussion went southward. But RK certainly threw the first punch.
In other words, RK is unjustifiably, and viciously, attacking first Dietary Fiber, and now Fred Bauder. I'm appalled, and saddened. And appalled.
as always,
tc
RK responded on 11 Apr 2003 08:06:25 -0700
[WikiEN-l] Should we do things Fred and Cunctator's way, or act like adults?
I should point out that the Cunctator's remarks about the dispute in the Idolatry Talk page were dishonest and misleading.
I was angered at Dietary Fiber for making certain remarks, especially the ones in which he/she attacked my religious beliefs, and made me out to be someone slandering all polytheists. (And I have never done this.) I was also bothered by Dietary Fiber's fake quotes (which my critics here are blatantly lying about)
Yet Cunctator ignored those particular remarks, and implied that they didn't even exist. When Cunctator did make some brief quotes, he left the particular quotes in question out! A lie by omission is a lie nonetheless.
Hey, maybe we should edit some Wikipedia articles today! We can forge a quote from Cunctator, questions his religious beliefs, and attack positions he does not have! We can also do the same thing to Fred Bauder! And then when they complain, we can insult them, and deny that these attacks against them even exist! Hurrah! How wonderfully fun it would be to join in with this type of trolling!
Or we can cut the crap and learn to act like adults. Some of us are here to do some serious work on this encyclopedia project.
RK
You'll love this :-( The Cunctator is now trying to insert Fred's stuff into Communist state. Oh God. Here we go again. ÉÍREman
THIS IS NOT AN ARTICLE ON THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC THEORY OF MARXISM-LENINISM. THIS IS AN ARTICLE ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL STATE STRUCTURE OF A COMMUNIST STATE!!!!!! READ THE ARCHIVED PAGES SO THAT I DON'T HAVE TO REPEAT WHAT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
ALSO, SITE OWNER JIMBO WALES AGREES THAT FRED'S CONTENT DOESN'T BELONG IN THIS ARTICLE (SEE THE MAILING LIST), SO YOUR EFFORTS TO INSERT FRED'S (PERHAPS YOUR) POV COULD GET YOU BANNED. --172
As I said before, your shouting is rude. You also have a deep misunderstanding of Wikipetiquette, Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines, and Jimbo's role. I hope you will consider improving your understanding. --The Cunctator
I know that it's rude. So is trying to insert your POV after JTD, Tannin, Tarquin, other users, and I have probably written well over a hundred pages on this page, user pages, and the mailing lists explaining why these poorly written paragraphs don't belong here. And here you come, interjecting yourself in the debate, being a further nuisance. I doubt that all of us could say anything else to convince you; you seem far too dense. So quit being so lazy and why don't you go through all our explanations and do some research to see if we're not all engaging in some kind of conspiracy and making these arguments up ourselves? 172
Re The Cunctator: on a talk page tonight he let slip his real reason for his behaviour. It isn't this page at all. He refuses to accept the manner in which political scientists analyse questions. With monumental arrogance, he believes that his way of throw everything into one article, no matter how many problems he causes, is superior to the way used by academics, political scientists, researchers, historians and people who do this sort of analysis for a living. His edits here are simply part of pushing an agenda. The fact that this page is organised in the standard manner of international research bugs him, because our infallible all knowing Cunctator knows that everyone else's way is wrong, the way by which one rights up research is all wrong, because he knows best. The fact that he has a poor grasp of the facts and a monumental ignorance of how academic research is done don't bug him because he knows best and the entire academic world is going to have to do things his 'superior' way. Jtdirl 02:48 May 11, 2003 (UTC)
I think it's hightime that the Cunctator, Fred Bauder, and slr all be banned. It's clear that they didn't get understand the Lir and Clutch incidents. --Zxcvb
There was a solution which Fred was OK with, until The Cunctator decided unilaterally to undo it. *sigh* And so his nonsense continues. Jtdirl 18:49 May 11, 2003 (UTC)
I wrote:
I'm just hoping Wikipedia doesn't significantly factionalize--or rather, stays in factions of one. I'm mildly disturbed by the way 172 invite particular people to work on an entry ("Wanted: Tannin, Sluberstien, and Jtdirl") /w/wiki.phtml?title=Talk:Industrial_Revolution&action=history because I don't see that kind of behavior boding well for the future.
Tannin replied:
Subject: [WikiEN-l] Please, no more personal attacks
Knock it off, Cunc.
That's quite uncalled for, and I'm getting very tired of your relentless sniping on this list. If you had bothered to THINK about it for a momemt, you might have realised that the three people named were named for a good and obvious reason:
I have a degree in that field and (before I went into business) used to teach it at tertiary level.
Slrubenstein can also be presumed to have formal qualifications in the field (doubtless higher ones than mine) as he too teaches it at tertiary level
Jtdirl has a phD in the field, and teaches it.
You have a problem with professional expertise? Or are you just making trouble?
I think Cunctator should be ignored until he presents any arguments for his position. --Eloquence
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