A revealing Computerworld feature dissects offers a rundown on how Wikipedia and its various sister projects really work - the ideals behind Copyleft and the GNU FDL license, the people that contribute, the policies and guidelines that determine contributions, dispute resolution, the Wikipedia Hierarchy, and an amusing summary of some of the major controversies and lamest edit wars that have occurred within the world of Wikipedia. These include the Siegenthaler incident, the real size of the Death Star, whether the C# Programming language should be written with a hash or the musical sharp symbol, the real height of Andre the Giant, and the eternal conflict between British and US spelling. The story also looks at what the future holds for Wikipedia. An in-depth, revealing look at how the world's largest encyclopedia really works.
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And how is this any less petty than the in-fighting you see between groups of salaried professionals who waste thousands upon thousands upon thousands of man hours advancing their pet theories?
Not to cast any doubt on the need for people who know their job, and act professionally, but in case you missed it, the world's always been f--king nuts; the internet just happens to be a slightly better stage for it.
There's good and bad in wikipedia, just like there's gold and nonsense in written, copy-edited and published books. If you don't have the ability to critically evaluate what you read, you're likely to believe bullshit no matter where it comes from. It's not the internet's fault people are the way they are, nor is it society's fault. That's just the way people are. We have one foot in the stars, and the other in the cave. Learn to enjoy it.
Idiocy occurs in the government, and in non-governmental sectors, among academics, executives, politicians, and police offices. White, jew, black, slave, free, rich, poor, gay, straight: They're all f--king crazy! And I like it that way!
