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12 September 2022
[queen] Who the hell updated Queen Elizabeth II’s Wikipedia page so quickly? … ‘It’s not as simple as changing “is” to “was.” After Sydwhunte made the initial death edit, Elizabeth II’s article underwent more than 55 edits in the subsequent 15 minutes – adding sources, changing the tense, updating the infobox with the length of her reign, and updating her categories (she’s no longer in the category “living people,” for example). Over on the article for now-King Charles III, there was a frenzy of title changes as editors waited for his regnal name to be announced. Charles’ article changed titles five times while people waited for his official regnal name.’
24 February 2022
[web] The adorable love story behind Wikipedia’s ‘high five’ photos … Occasionally the Internet can produce a wonderfully wholesome story. ‘Thanks to an overabundance of time alone with my laptop and a growing pile of responsibilities that I wanted to push off, I found myself fixated on these photos recently. I became increasingly convinced that there was nothing platonic about this high five – I mean, you can feel the chemistry through the screen. Just look at her smile in the first frame! Look at their gazes in the third frame! There’s no way two people so young and so beautiful could exchange such a flirty high five without feeling flutters of the heart. I couldn’t help but wonder what their story was – and what had happened to them. So I launched an investigation…’
14 September 2021
[wikipedia] One Woman’s Mission to Rewrite Nazi History on Wikipedia … A fascinating look at how lots of Nazi history on Wikipedia is essentially fanfiction and the difficulties in clearing it up. ‘In the spring of 2016, Coffman goes through hundreds of articles about the winners of various Nazi medals, including one called the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross. She removes biased sources and any information based on those sources. When she is done, typically, there is nothing left to the article-nothing to say about the person-other than the fact that he won an award. She then insists that an award isn’t reason enough for a stand-alone Wikipedia article. Without a reliable source telling your life story, you can’t be notable. Poof. Another Nazi legend bites the dust.’
8 March 2019
[lists] The Best Unusual Articles on Wikipedia … List of amusing time-wasting articles on Wikipedia. Check out Jesus H. Christ, Calculator Spelling and the Cadaver Synod.
20 June 2018
[wiki] Galloway’s war of words with a mystery Wikipedia editor … A look at George Galloway’s feud with a supposedly bias pseudonymous Wikipedia editor… ‘He’s recently caught the attention of bloggers and has been the subject of stories in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and Russian state-owned outlets Sputnik and RT. There have been allegations on social media – all unproven – that he’s a government agent, employed by rich and powerful media interests, or is a mainstream journalist with an obsessive hobby.’
18 October 2017
[wikipedia] 19 Wikipedia Pages That’ll Send You Into A Week-Long Wikihole … a great time wasting list … List of common misconceptions: ‘This list is basically what it says on the tin: a bunch of facts that you think you know but aren’t really facts at all. For example, I was upset to learn that Thomas Crapper (the guy in the above photo) didn’t actually invent the flushing toilet. He just made them more popular. Also, less surprisingly, Einstein didn’t really fail maths, and when he heard this claim he said “before I was 15 I had mastered differential and integral calculus.” No need to brag, Albert.’
30 August 2016
[wikipedia] Wikipedia Is Not Therapy! … behind-the-scenes look at how Wikipedia deals with mental health issues within it’s online community of volunteers … ‘A ‘recent changes’ feed tracks every edit made across Wikimedia projects; this is constantly monitored by volunteer community members. Experienced editors know that when an alarming change hits the feed, they should reach out to emergency@wikimedia.org. This address is connected to a 24-hour pager system that notifies Earley’s geographically dispersed team. Human eyes will usually read this message within a couple minutes. If at least two team members agree that the situation seems serious enough, they will report it to a law enforcement agency. Earley says that the Foundation has established police contacts across the English-speaking world who are familiar with this type of online threat of harm; it’s never a matter of hurriedly trying to explain Wikipedia to a confused or suspicious local cop.’
[tags: Internet, Wikipedia][ permalink][ Comments Off on How Wikipedia Deals with Mental Health Issues Within It’s Online Community]
22 May 2015
[wikipedia] Death means a lot of bureaucracy on Wikipedia … ‘When someone dies, on their Wikipedia article a diligent editor is supposed to update the following things…’
27 January 2015
[wikipedia] Wikipedia’s List of lists of lists… includes many useful lists of lists such as Lists of Emmerdale characters and Lists of golfers. ‘This article is a list of articles that are themselves lists of articles that are also lists of articles on Wikipedia; i.e., the articles linked each index numerous lists on a topic.’ [via Kottke]
7 November 2014
[wikipedia] First Drafts of History … a tumblr looking at the first draft of Wikipedia articles … The first draft of the iPhone: ‘The iPhone is born from Apple and Motorola’s Alliance. He’s simply a white Motorola E398, like Cupertino’s iPod, with a embedded version of iTunes Music Store. The iPhone has 555 mb free storage, and can transfer one hundred of AAC music files (used by the iTunes Music Store). iPhone’s interest is the price of one music on the iTunes Music Store : 0.99€, when a lot of operators is selling 2€ or 3€ one music. We may be see a opening of the music sell for the mobile in a few month. The iPhone may be come on the market July, 7, 2005, because Apple had convened all the press this day. Note of author : please rewritting my article in a correct english. thank you’
15 April 2014
[wikipedia] TL;DR Wikipedia … condensed Wikipedia … ‘Ayn Rand was American novelist, best known for developing the philosophy of Objectivism, which apparently states that every college freshmen must get really into Objectivism.’ [via Qwghlm]
29 January 2014
[wikipedia] 12 Spectacular Acts Of Wikipedia Vandalism … More from Buzzfeed but the vandalism of Spot the Dog’s wikipedia entry is worth a look … ‘Where’s Spot? Is he under the stairs? Is he in the box? No. He’s at the bar: Sipping whiskey. Sucking on cigarettes. Suffering.’
27 August 2013
[wikipedia] Updating a Printed Wikipedia … How many printers would you need to print out the English version of Wikipedia? … ‘Six printers isn’t that many, but they’d be running all the time. And that gets expensive. The electricity to run them would be cheap-a few dollars a day. The paper would be about one cent per sheet, which means you’ll be spending about a thousand dollars a day. You’d want to hire people to manage the printers 24/7, but that would actually cost less than the paper. Even the printers themselves wouldn’t be too expensive, despite the terrifying replacement cycle. But the ink cartridges would be a nightmare.’
8 August 2013
[wikipedia] Wikipedia:Terminal Event Management Policy … Wikipedia’s amusing protocol for saving the encyclopedia’s data in the event of an apocalypse … ‘Following the implementation of the level 2 warning, editors are expected to commence the transfer of the encyclopedia to other media. As an immediate measure, it is suggested that editors print as many articles as possible, with due regard to any personal safety concerns that may be faced in these extraordinary events.’
28 May 2013
[wikipedia] Revenge, ego and the corruption of Wikipedia … a fascinating look at the detection of a rogue Wikipedia editor … ‘Some parts of the exchange struck me as odd, particularly his declaration that he was was “tech-deficient.” Young has over 5,000 friends on Facebook, a Twitter account, a resume that includes a stint teaching at the online-only University of Phoenix and a credit on his eldercare website that says “Designed by Robert Young © 2012 using Homestead website templates.” He sounded right at home in the realm of new technology.’
5 February 2013
[death] Wikipedia’s list of unusual deaths … ‘1959: In the Dyatlov Pass incident, nine ski hikers in the Ural Mountains abandoned their camp in the middle of the night, some clad only in their underwear despite sub-zero weather. Six died of hypothermia and three by unexplained injuries. The corpses showed no signs of struggle, but one had a fatal skull fracture, two had major chest fractures, and one was missing her tongue. Soviet investigators determined only that “a compelling unknown force” had caused the deaths. During the hikers’ memorials, several witnesses reported that the bodies had an “orangish tint” to them.’
18 August 2011
[life] Tetrapharmakos … Epicurus’ four-part cure for leading a happy life … “The fundamental obstacle to happiness, says Epicurus, is anxiety,” writes D. S. Hutchinson.
14 December 2009
[funny] I Am Locking the Wikipedia Article On Our Sex Life … ‘Locking the article has also become necessary to prevent the constant reinsertion of a section with the heading “Like a Cowardly Slug That’s Just Spotted a Pile of Salt,” detailing at length the uncharacteristically unsatisfying night we shared in a Paris hotel last summer. As I made clear several times on the talk page of our sex life, that was a completely unrepresentative occasion…’
4 December 2009
[interesting] The 50 Most Interesting Articles On Wikipedia … including… ETAOIN SHRDLU: ‘The letters on Linotype keyboards were arranged by letter frequency, so ETAOIN SHRDLU were the first two vertical columns on the left side of the keyboard.’
2 March 2008
[wikipedia] Nicholson Baker on The Charms of Wikipedia … ‘Without the kooks and the insulters and the spray-can taggers, Wikipedia would just be the most useful encyclopedia ever made. Instead it’s a fast-paced game of paintball. Not only does Wikipedia need its vandals-up to a point-the vandals need an orderly Wikipedia, too. Without order, their culture-jamming lacks a context.’ [via Metafilter]
29 September 2007
[wikipedia] The 8 Most Needlessly Detailed Wikipedia Entries … On the Wikipedia entry for the Universe of the Metroid Series: ‘…if you searched for “Metroid” because you needed some codes or hints, anything that might make playing the game a little easier, this is not the place to go, unless Metroid 2 has a level where an in-depth understanding of the Space Pirate’s culture and physiology comes in handy. Word Count: 30,106. That’s more words than Shakespeare’s fifth longest play, Henry IV, Part 2.’
12 September 2007
[wikipedia] My Wikipedia Contrail: Tox … ‘Tox is a prolific and widely known graffiti tagger on the London Underground, active since 2000. His simple tags TOX 02, TOX 03, TOX 04 etc., in the style of TAKI 183, can be seen many hundreds of times across above-ground sections of the network in Central London, particularly the Metropolitan Line.’
2 September 2007
[wikipedia] Wikirage … ‘This site lists the pages in Wikipedia which are receiving the most edits per unique editor over various periods of time. Popular people in the news, the latest fads, and the hottest video games can be quickly identified by monitor this social phenomenon.’ [via Daring Fireball]
22 June 2007
[wikipedia] Wikington Crescent … How to Play: ‘To start a game of Wikington Crescent, first click on the Random article link. From the article given, you then click on one of the article links to the next article. The object of the game is to reach the article on Mornington Crescent tube station, whilst clicking on as few articles as possible. The fewer the links used, the better the game. An example is that the article for Matterhorn can lead you to Mornington Crescent tube station within four links.’ [via plep]
9 February 2007
[wikipedia] Anna Nicole Smith’s death sends Wikipedia into overdrive … ‘I get all my news from a large online forum… Whenever they say someone’s dead, I rush to Wikipedia to edit their article… But I’ve always been too late. Why is it that scientific news takes so long to be made public, but when somebody dies everyone flocks to it? We’re all just a bunch of necrophiles, aren’t we?’ [via linkbunnies.org]
17 December 2006
[wikipedia] My Wikipedia Contrail: Larry David … ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm was credited with helping clear a Los Angeles man named Juan Catalan of a first-degree murder charge. Catalan, who was arrested on suspicion of murder, maintained his innocence, saying he was at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game on May 12, 2003, during the time of the slaying. During the game, an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm was being shot in Dodger Stadium which contained footage of Juan Catalan with his daughter. When told that his show had released a wrongfully accused man, Larry David commented in a New Yorker article, “I tell people that I’ve now done one decent thing in my life. Albeit inadvertently.”’
13 November 2006
[wikipedia] My Wikipedia Contrail: Russell’s Teapot … Bertrand Russell: ‘If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time.’
5 November 2006
[wikipedia] My Wikipedia Contrail: Peter Falk … ‘Falk wears an ocular prosthetic (“glass eye”). His right eye was surgically removed at the age of three because of cancer.’
3 November 2006
[wikipedia] Wikipedia’s Lamest Edit Wars … Avengers (Comics) vs. New Avengers (Comics): ‘Should there be a separate page for New Avengers (comics)? Is the name of the team now the New Avengers or is it just a new Avengers? Is it a new comic entirely or just a continuation of the old one? Following a positive merge vote, a series of reverts occurs when an editor “merges” the two by simply pasting the merged information into the article, creating two articles in one. The slow nature of the revert war means that, technically, nobody violates WP:3RR, and requests for help from other admins go unheeded because, well, it’s lame. After a series of exchanges on the talk page questioning people’s command of English as well as their sanity, the issue appears to have been settled with the creation of New Avengers (comic book) (note the oh-so-subtle distinction)…’ [thanks Alisterb]
14 September 2006
[wikipedia] The Stormtrooper Effect … ‘The name originated with the armed Imperial Stormtroopers in the original Star Wars trilogy, who, despite their considerable advantages of close range, overwhelming numbers, professional military training, full armor, military-grade firepower, and noticeable combat effectiveness against non-speaking characters, were incapable of seriously harming the protagonists.’
1 August 2006
[wiki] My Wikipedia Contrail: Fallen Astronaut … ‘Fallen Astronaut is an 8.5-cm (slightly over 3″) aluminum sculpture of an astronaut in a spacesuit. It is the only piece of art on the Moon.’
5 July 2006
[wikipedia] My Wikipedia Contrail: Kipple … ‘Kipple is a term coined by science fiction author Philip K. Dick in the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. It refers to unwanted or useless junk that tends to reproduce itself. Some of Dick’s descriptions of it suggest an analogy to entropy. According to two characters from the book, John Isidore stated that the first law of “kipple” is that “kipple” drives out “nonkipple”;’
2 July 2006
[wikipedia] My Wikipedia Contrail: Richard Belzer — random cast look-up during Law & Order: Special Victims Unit … ‘Belzer and Henry Winkler (most notably the Fonz on Happy Days) are cousins.’
29 June 2006
[wikipedia] My Wikipedia Contrail: Seinfeld … Jason Alexander on George: ‘…the true root of [George’s] character was realized upon a conversation between Alexander and David earlier on in the series, in which Alexander questions a script saying, “This could never happen to anyone and even if it did, no human being would react like this” to which David replied, “What do you mean? This happened to me once and this is exactly how I reacted!”‘
[wikipedia] My Wikipedia Contrail: No True Scotsman. ‘…a common fallacy in politics, in which critics may condemn their colleagues as not being “true” liberals or conservatives because they occasionally disagree on certain matters of policy. It comes in many other forms – “No decent person would” – it is argued “support hanging/watch pornography/smoke in public”, etc. Often the speaker seems unaware that he/she is, in fact, coercively (re)defining what the phrase “decent person” means to include/exclude what he/she wants and NOT simply following what the phrase is already accepted as meaning.’
28 June 2006
[wikipedia] My Wikipedia Contrail: Alfred Henry Hook — I took a look at this because I wondered what happed to Hooky from Zulu after the Battle of Rourke’s Drift … ‘In the film Zulu, Hook is portrayed as an insubordinate malingerer and drunkard who only comes good during the battle. In fact he had been awarded Good Conduct pay shortly prior to the battle, and reports also suggest he was a teetotaller.’
[wikipedia] My Wikipedia Contrail: Evel Knievel … ‘On the morning of the jump, Knievel stopped in the casino and placed a single $100 dollar bet on the blackjack table, which he lost, stopped by the bar and got a shot of Wild Turkey and then headed outside where he was joined by several members of the Caesar’s staff, as well as two scantily clad showgirls. After doing his normal pre-jump show and a few warm up approaches, Knievel began his real approach. When he hit the takeoff ramp, he felt the motorcycle unexpectedly decelerate. The sudden loss of power on the takeoff caused Knievel to come up short and land on the safety ramp which was supported by a van. This caused the handlebars to be ripped out of his hands as he tumbled over them onto the pavement where he skidded into the Dunes parking lot. As a result of the crash, Knievel received a crushed pelvis and femur, fractures to his hip, wrist and both ankles and a concussion that kept him in a coma for 29 days.’
19 June 2006
[wikipedia] Un_Wiki — watch crap get deleted from Wikipedia in real time … ‘So I’m told that Scotty doesn’t know? Matt Damon sings this song? Octavio has a really hot girlfriend and gets none?’ [via Haddock]
7 February 2006
[wikipedia] Six degrees of Wikipedia — finds a path between two Wikipedia articles using links in the text.
30 December 2005
[games] Mornington Crescent on Wikipedia — contains spoilers for the game … ‘Item #101 of the 2005 University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt was for one player on each team to “participate in an email adaptation of the classic game Mornington Crescent”, using the CTA rail system. Participants were warned, “We shall follow the standard Thurgood-Hamilton conversion algorithm, but banning semi-lateral shunts.”‘ [via Metafilter]
19 September 2005
[comics] BY WIKIPEDIA BETRAYED! John Byrne vs. Wikipedia — Byrne deletes most of the content from his entry in Wikipedia. Hi-jinks ensue … ‘Byrne discovered [his Wikipedia Entry] the other week and immediately set about to “correct” things. Here’s the problem. Byrne didn’t just want to go through to clarify points or streamline the entry – he wanted to dismantle the entire page. He deleted everything except for the opening biographical paragraph and the bibliography. He deleted every bit of information regarding his career stages, his interactions with fans, pros, etc., claiming that the entire entry was fraught with inaccuracies and lies. Thing is, they weren’t.’ [via Metafilter]
9 June 2005
[wikipedia] Wikipedia’s Lamest Edit Wars Ever … What would Jesus do?: ‘Should the article link to Brian Boitano or What Would Brian Boitano Do? Should a movie title be italicized? Did something happen in the middle of the 1990’s or the mid-to late-1990’s? These and other probing questions were at the heart of five-day long edit war between Anthony and Wik, during which the page had to be protected twice. The campaign spread to other pages…’ [via Yoz]
4 May 2005
[wikipedia] Random Entry at Wikipedia — link to a Random Entry on Wikipedia.
24 January 2005
[wikipedia] Unusual articles in Wikipedia … ‘This page is for Wikipedians to list articles that seem a bit unusual. These articles are valuable contributions to the encyclopedia, but are somewhat odd, whimsical, or… well, something you wouldn’t expect to find in Encyclopedia Britannica.’
27 October 2004
[web] Who knows? — Simon Waldman on the rise of Wikipedia … ‘The current Encyclopedia Britannica has 44m words of text. Wikipedia already has more than 250m words in it. Britannica’s most recent edition has 65,000 entries in print and 75,000 entries online. Wikipedia’s English site has some 360,000 entries and is growing every day. But numbers mean nothing if the quality is no good. And this is where the arguments start…’
6 December 2002
[web] Wikipedia — a free encylopedia using a WikiWiki. ‘…a collaborative project to produce a free and complete encyclopedia in every language. We started in January 2001 and are already working on 94470 articles in the English version, with more being added and improved all the time. Anyone, including you, can edit any article right now, without even having to log in.’
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