Re: <nettime> what makes a notable life? [wikipedia]

[Jonathan Marshall <Jonathan.Marshall@uts.edu.au>]

Like Toni i've no real idea who DJLotu-5 is (not that it matters) and
perhaps obviously i don't understand how wiki works, but i do find it
strange(?) that the original article (which i found relatively informative)
could be deleted so easily by a person who seems to have no
'qualifications' in, interest in, or experience of mixed media art,
transgender theory and practice or any of the things for which Lotu5 might
be considered of interest.  

furthermore the main deleter's own articles seem largely to be puff peices
for a particular university of the kind which might count as advertisments
rather than as informative. 

So although there might be a problem with everyone writing their own
wikipedia page and it turning into a slightly more boring version of
facebook, it also could turn into an advertising medium for local
businesses and so on.  

I'd also point out that using google news as a decider would eliminate most
academics from wiki pretty quickly, or change the way that academics went
about getting status - must comit a robbery or two, or date a celebrity.

Basically it seems that wiki runs by the principle of those who have the
most stamina and least to do elsewhere get to determine what goes in it.
This almost certainly means that its current potential to be radical is
diminished - although some will think that a good thing

Perhaps wiki ought to actually chuck aside the old dictionary encyclopedia
print media format altogether and recognise that there can be a whole set
of different interpretations of people and values placed upon them and
allow different articles on the same subjects, make the arguments part of
the articles etc, and accept that it will have a tendency to become
facebook-like.

jon

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