User:Wikimachine/Letter

Dear Vandals:

Please do not vandalize Wikipedia. What harm has Wikipedia done to you? All of you probably have used Wikipedia at least once - that is, the only way for you to come to Wikipedia as vandals is to have used the encyclopedia. Then, you have an obligation to give back productively for the product you've received. And yes, you are bound to use Wikipedia. Search for anything on Google. Wikipedia always comes on top. Real hypocrites make use of a service or utility, and destroy it even though they are bound to use it again.

Amidst this chaotic time marked by the September 11th, and the Virginia Tech massacre, anything could be assumed about your identities and your intentions. Casting terrorists, hackers, and political sponsors aside, we Wikipedians assume that you must be normal people and attendees of an internet forum. One day, you stop on a thread about Wikipedia, and get immersed on a discussion about how bureaucratic and arrogant the system is (especially the administrators, who most probably are kids and college drop-outs). Everyone has seen this movie before. "The vandal has made obtuse remarks about "IP banning" being ineffective", according to admin Natalie. You want to prove that Wikipedia is not all that as invincible as it looks. Most of you must have vandalized Wikipedia a bit for fun, and have received that cold warning (Please do not vandalize Wikipedia...) that addresses you as if you were a little misbehaving child that needs to be patted on the head and given a candy. Everyone has seen this movie before too. Vandalizing Wikipedia becomes your passion.

Look at the larger picture. Understand that the unique environment for Wikipedia necessitates the proposal and implementation of the current policies. Understand that Wikipedia is not run by some Harvard professors and "The Man". Wikipedia is a consensus-based democracy that gives all viewpoints a fair chance (as opposed to the Athenian democracy commonly labeled as "the democracy" that unfairly treats the minorities of that society). You have the choice to play the bad guys, and also the good guys. Certain aspects of our society places people in such despicable or unusual environments that give them no choice but to go mad and commit hideous crimes. However, on Wikipedia, even the bad guys can pretend to be good guys. Why choose to be the robbers when you have the option to be the cops? Some of you are from Cambodia, right? Write articles on Cambodia. Nobody knows about Cambodia, while everyone knows about Japan and England. Life is not fair. Why do people neglect your country, culture, and religion? Wikipedia gives you the option to make the world just a bit more fair. People need good articles on Cambodia before they get to know about Cambodia and take interest in that country. The same applies to everyone else of all national identities. Sine qua non.

That is all. (Wikimachine 21:26, 18 April 2007 (UTC))