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Comment Re:Too much good content is deleted at Wikipedia. (Score 1) 239

Fact is that hoaxes have always existed and have always found ways of propagating. Wikipedia, like everything on the internet, has just made it easier and faster. It is not a problem of Wikipedia, it's a problem with people in general.

Even people who work for Wikipedia tell you not to trust it [youtube.com], but to check the underlying citations.

You say this as if it comes as a shock. That's kind of the point of an encyclopaedia and completely the point of citations. If you are going to trust an entry in Wikipedia alone for anything important, you are being very foolish.

Unfortunately, while Wikipedia has to justify itself on one hand to those who demand that everything is verified before it is shown, on the other it has those who complain bitterly that new material they have added without any verification is being removed. Wikipedia cannot do both.

Comment Re:Someone with no brain is running NASA (Score 4, Funny) 162

All of them ride around all day with no spare tire? Seems to me the biggest oversight here was NOT packing an extra set.

And a mechanic to change the wheel is just a phone call away because NAS had the foresight to take out full MAA (Mars Automobile Association) membership. They'll even tow it back home!

Comment Re:Problem already solved (Score 1) 457

"Ignore user" only works if everyone does it. Unfortunately there's always someone who wants to engage with the troll, wanting to put them straight, or show them up for the idiots they are. They don't realise that a troll doesn't care what is said to them. As long as they're given attention they are getting what they came for, and it ensures they keep coming back for more. Usually under multiple accounts.

Comment Re: Uber is quite retarded (Score 1) 341

It has nothing to do with skill. "Being licensed" has some implication (however imperfect it may be) of being insured and being a known citizen, with a history of following the rules of the road and laws in general.

Not being licensed means you could be an uninsured, unidentifiable, homicidal maniac fresh out of prison. Personally I'd prefer some kind of means of avoiding getting in a car alone with these people.

Comment Re:quibble on usernames (Score 1) 113

The idea is to stop users who may claim special authority over the content of some articles, on the basis that they represent an organisation mentioned within them. Naturally, it's the internet, so it's difficult to verify this, and those doing it would have a clear conflict of interest when editing an article related to them. So a good way of nipping this behavior in the bud this is to disallow "corporate" names.

Of course this doesn't stop organisations editing their articles under another name. But at least that's done on the same level as any other editor and the same rules apply.

Comment Re:Take it Private (Score 1) 113

Wiki needs to be purchased.

By who? Who is going to pay for it that can be trusted to not push their own agenda?

Where is the money going to come from? Adverts? Do you think advertisers won't have an agenda, and interest in what appears on Wikipedia?

Why would unpaid volunteers submit articles to a commercial organisation that profits off their work?

Comment Re:IQ of 197? (Score 1) 391

I wish that journalists would turn their brain on and not off at every number they cite

To be fair, what you just did there relies on knowing a fair bit of statistic methodology. Not something an average journalist does.

But, yeah, any journalist worth anything should be able to spot bullshit. And an IQ of 197 is obvious bullshit. You don't need to do the sums to see that.

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