User:ObjectivelyWise

I guess the obvious first question asked by people who come to read a person's user page is this: "Why does this person care enough about Wikipedia to have an account?" Well, allow me to explain.

I have an account because I believe that Wikipedia is a farce.

It is a project that is now, has always been, and will always be a doomed endeavor. What am I saying by that? That eventually Wikipedia will cease to exist? No, even I'm not that optimistic. Eventually, though, Wikipedia will hopefully be known accurately for what it is: a somewhat accurate, mostly unreliable and biased collation of things people have said on the Internet.

By it's own admission, Wikipedia does not strive for truth in its content; merely accuracy. What does that mean? It means that even under ideal circumstances, the information cited in Wikipedia articles does not have to be true only properly referenced. Basically that means anyone can say anything they like about a person, an organization, a people group, an idea, and so on and it can find its way into a Wikipedia article.

The problem with democratizing knowledge and giving anyone the power to write it destroys the accountability at least partially in place in scholarly and academic circles. The result of this approach on Wikipedia is a slough of articles on good people, good organizations, and good ideas that have been distorted by false information, personal prejudices, or otherwise just straight-up lies.

That, quite frankly, pisses me off. People have a right to their good name and the fact that anyone can get on this site and anonymously slander them (verifiably or not) is something I simply will not stand for.

I have no interest in Wikipedia other than making sure that outright lies and slander are not allowed to remain in place. I do not wish to be contacted and I do not wish to be invited to collaborate on any projects. In fact, I will probably only sporadically use my account and usually will only do so when I feel I need to stand up for the truth.

So, that's all I have to say.

With any luck, maybe one day in a coffee shop in a classy part of some American city, two friends will be sitting reminiscing over a cup of Joe and one will say to the other, "Hey, remember Wikipedia?"