User:Xophorus

Call me Xophorus. I have a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. I joined the Wikipedia project in August 2008. I don't really enjoy being nice, but I can be patient enough; I promise I will no longer be naughty and will not declare another Revert War.

I am here to defend the truth from democratic process.

I ought to be editing history, art, music, women's studies, and the like, but after my experience at Frank Zappa I am aware that not everybody here is a genuine specialist in the apparent field. Consensus is being manufactured by people who do not deserve to be editors, and bouncing people with more knowledge than they have; I assume my experience at Frank Zappa was not unique.

Wikipedia therefore has a dangerous capacity to appear more objective than it is, to be the medium of cliques, and to insure that the consensus of those who got there first, or who know the local regulations or keystrokes, will use those facts to prevent the truth from rising.

The terminology used in the Talk at F.Z. indicated at least one of the editors (one of the more militant ones) was not a professional musician; when I remarked on this, my remark was erased. I wonder whether this remark will also be erased? I was literally out on my ear before I knew what the 3RR rule was. So, rather than go through that again, I have decided to do minor edits, such as de-Orphaning Don Juanism. I have enjoyed Wikifying an article or two here or there.

I would like to get a good idea of what can be done about raising the standards at some articles that clearly need it, and as a test case I thought Pornography would be safer than Frank Zappa (imagine that). Some of the porn sites are being used as mere advertisements for porn stars; I have the idea that filmographies and more verifiable entries would be better. Also, Filmographies contain verifiable elements, and can bring in other articles, such as on film studios, etc. Still, I have gone for Consensus, and made no actual changes yet... especially in light of the fact I too am not "a genuine specialist in the apparent field" of porn. But I think that if I work in Porn I am less likely to screw up!