The ugly, the bad, the playful, and the promising
Well-being of Wikipedians explored in an in-depth piece
Backchannel takes on the issue of mental and emotional well-being among Wikipedians, noting that during a seven-year span, Wikimedia Foundation staff "responded to almost 500 threats of suicide and other imminent harm to people and property." The piece explores the general issue through the story of one Wikipedian's troubling experiences, and delves into the efforts of the WMF's Support and Safety team. (Aug. 16)
Journalist describes efforts to remove a hit piece
Journalist Tom Mendelsohn of Ars Technica recounts how his "joy turned to disappointment" after learning that a brief biography of him had been published on Wikipedia, and then realizing that it had been written "to attack [him] as an unhinged left-wing agitator." He describes his successful, if frustrating, efforts to get the article removed. (Aug. 15)
In brief
- Wikiverse is a website that presents Wikipedia content as a "universe"; it was covered in several media reports, including Engadget. (Aug. 18)
- Wikipedia takes Pune: The Hindu reports on Wikimedia volunteers' "photography initiatives that could change the way India is seen in cyberspace." (Aug. 11)
- Wikipedia Olympics: A Daily Dot story takes a lighthearted look at Wikipedians' commentary on the Olympic Games, declaring the site has "the best Olympic commentary around." (Aug. 10)
- 98% of instructors would teach with Wikipedia again: The Wiki Education Foundation reports that instructors in its spring 2016 term were enthusiastic about repeating the effort, and digs into the reasons and benefits. In another Wiki Ed blog post, one instructor is joined by two of her students as they discuss the benefits of Wikipedia as a teaching tool. (Aug. 10)
- Judging politicians by their Wikipedia profile pictures: Vice takes a whimsical look at the Wikipedia photos of UK Independence Party politicians, having previously done the same for Labour Party and Conservative Party figures. (Aug. 9)
- Reformed Wikipedia vandal: Daijiworld and other Indian outlets describe how a teenage vandal and sockpuppeteer became a valued contributor in " How (not) to get started on Wikipedia, an 18-year-old’s story". (Aug. 8)
- Tulu Wikipedia: The Tulu Wikipedia has been launched, representing the 23rd Wikipedia in an Indian language, as noted by Daijiworld, The Hindu and others. (Aug. 7–10)
- Epic silliness: A piece in Cracked covers " 6 Hilariously Nerdy (Surprisingly Epic) Wikipedia Fights" (Aug. 7)
The ugly, the bad, the playful, and the promising
Well-being of Wikipedians explored in an in-depth piece
Backchannel takes on the issue of mental and emotional well-being among Wikipedians, noting that during a seven-year span, Wikimedia Foundation staff "responded to almost 500 threats of suicide and other imminent harm to people and property." The piece explores the general issue through the story of one Wikipedian's troubling experiences, and delves into the efforts of the WMF's Support and Safety team. (Aug. 16)
Journalist describes efforts to remove a hit piece
Journalist Tom Mendelsohn of Ars Technica recounts how his "joy turned to disappointment" after learning that a brief biography of him had been published on Wikipedia, and then realizing that it had been written "to attack [him] as an unhinged left-wing agitator." He describes his successful, if frustrating, efforts to get the article removed. (Aug. 15)
In brief
- Wikiverse is a website that presents Wikipedia content as a "universe"; it was covered in several media reports, including Engadget. (Aug. 18)
- Wikipedia takes Pune: The Hindu reports on Wikimedia volunteers' "photography initiatives that could change the way India is seen in cyberspace." (Aug. 11)
- Wikipedia Olympics: A Daily Dot story takes a lighthearted look at Wikipedians' commentary on the Olympic Games, declaring the site has "the best Olympic commentary around." (Aug. 10)
- 98% of instructors would teach with Wikipedia again: The Wiki Education Foundation reports that instructors in its spring 2016 term were enthusiastic about repeating the effort, and digs into the reasons and benefits. In another Wiki Ed blog post, one instructor is joined by two of her students as they discuss the benefits of Wikipedia as a teaching tool. (Aug. 10)
- Judging politicians by their Wikipedia profile pictures: Vice takes a whimsical look at the Wikipedia photos of UK Independence Party politicians, having previously done the same for Labour Party and Conservative Party figures. (Aug. 9)
- Reformed Wikipedia vandal: Daijiworld and other Indian outlets describe how a teenage vandal and sockpuppeteer became a valued contributor in " How (not) to get started on Wikipedia, an 18-year-old’s story". (Aug. 8)
- Tulu Wikipedia: The Tulu Wikipedia has been launched, representing the 23rd Wikipedia in an Indian language, as noted by Daijiworld, The Hindu and others. (Aug. 7–10)
- Epic silliness: A piece in Cracked covers " 6 Hilariously Nerdy (Surprisingly Epic) Wikipedia Fights" (Aug. 7)
Discuss this story
- If you reverse the first two words such as "The bad, the ugly, the playful, and the promising" it would be a tetracolon crescens (four parts in increasing magnitude of syllables). -- Green C 19:10, 18 August 2016 (UTC)
- I found the Tom Mendelsohn article on Ars Technica to be an entertaining read, and a curious reflection on the overly sensitive age in which we live. Praemonitus ( talk) 19:25, 18 August 2016 (UTC)
- I enjoyed the article as well, but I'm not sure I understand your comment. Do I understand your statement that we (humanity) are too sensitive?
Ckoerner (
talk) 16:21, 22 August 2016 (UTC)
- I too was unsure of the meaning there. Was it meant that Tom Mendelsohn was too sensitive about the Wikipedia article's content? If there were a WP article about me, I would not want it to say untrue stuff about me. But there isn't anything overly sensitive about feeling that way; rather, it's the rational amount of sensitivity! Quercus solaris ( talk) 23:27, 23 August 2016 (UTC)
- I enjoyed the article as well, but I'm not sure I understand your comment. Do I understand your statement that we (humanity) are too sensitive?
Ckoerner (
talk) 16:21, 22 August 2016 (UTC)
- Note that Wikiverse is by the same main author as Wikigalaxy, Owen Cornec. He makes good things. :-) (Also, there are related discussions/proposals at m:Grants:Project/Arc.heolo.gy and mw:Wikimedia User Interface/Concepts/Explorer and mw:User:Quiddity/Tree of knowledge). Quiddity ( talk) 22:06, 24 August 2016 (UTC)
- Backchannel has some high-quality pieces. Thanks! And a request—please stop giving Cracked traffic
czar 19:42, 27 August 2016 (UTC)
- I second that notion from Czar. It's just not a website worth talking about. GamerPro64 20:11, 27 August 2016 (UTC)
- The Vice article is so absurd that I came away thinking that I had wasted three minutes of my life trying to read it. As an American, I would like to undertstand the UKIP better, but this didn't help. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 05:45, 28 August 2016 (UTC)
Discuss this story