Filed under: %a la mod
Sometimes, entering the factory to see how sausages are made can be fascinating and rewarding. Wikipedia is a fun factory in this regard; you never know if you’re going to be rewarded or confused.
“How NOT to steal a Sidekick 2” was an article created last week based on an internet meme, garnering 70+ edits before being deleted for insufficient notability (not to mention poor article titling). The deletion discussion I linked to above ran for a standard 5 days, and included new and veteran contributors to the site (as most such do). It demonstrates many aspects of how this new breed of information amateur (in the traditional sense) is helping define relevance, utility, and authority (in the authority file sense) online.
The motivations and suggestsions made on that page are fascinating, and make me proud to be part of that community. As does the ever-improving Manual of Style; one of the three great Wikipedian products… but that’s a thought for another post.