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New York, 7:11 PM
Mon Dec 7
48 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of dreweverett dreweverett
    11/24/09

    In reply to Time Inc's Pre-Thanksgiving Layoffs
    At least one print outlet is being "resurrected." From TPM - "Staff of the Southern Voice, a gay weekly in Atlanta and one of the handful of publications shut down abruptly by parent company Window Media last week, have received a $12,000 matching grant to start a new publication. "

    Anyway, thought some good news would be in order...

    [tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com]

    #Tips
    #The Gays
    #Thingswelike
     Reply
    If_I_Had_a_Poodle promoted this comment dreweverett was starred dreweverett was unstarred
    Image of badasscat badasscat
    11/23/09

    In reply to Wikipedia Gridlocked by Wikipedia Nerds
    And yet still, up until last week Wikipedia listed the wrong actor as Captain Steubing on The Love Boat!

    (Seriously!)
     Reply
    badasscat was starred badasscat was unstarred
    Image of JDawdson JDawdson
    11/23/09

    In reply to Wikipedia Gridlocked by Wikipedia Nerds
    Alright. I am a longtime Wikipedia editor, but I am also an "inclusionist," or somene who supports the loosening of Wikipedia's notability standards, and I agree that this crap has gone too far.

    The problem is this. Every time some high school English teacher rambles on about how Wikipedia is the spawn of the devil, Jimbo Wales orders his minions to crack down on notability. Every time Steven Colbert jokes about how "the lightsaber article is longer than the printing press article," Jimbo Wales orders a crackdown. Every time some middle schooler hides the word "penis" in an article for a few months and the media picks up on it, Jimbo Wales orders a crackdown.

    Wales has been trying desperately the last few years to get Wikipedia accepted as one of the big boys in academic research. Just look at their new Orwellian fundraising drive advertising campaign--"WIKIPEDIA FOREVER! Wikipedia has always been there for you! We know everything! Give us money!" It's stupid, and the vast majority of the community opposed it. But he trucked right on and did it anyway, because he cares more about getting Wikipedia's name in the history books than actually making the site useful.

    A year or two ago, Wikipedia underwent the "Webcomic Wars." Almost every webcomic article, from Ctrl+Alt+Del to xkcd was up for deletion on crappy notability loopholes. The real reason was because these webcomic articles were sometimes longer than articles about "real" comics, and we can't have that, can we? In the end, it showed just how hard Wales and his cronies are trying to make Wikipedia the online version of Britannica instead of the useful compendium of niche knowledge we've come to know it as.

    At the end of the day, everyone--you, me, and that high school English teacher--uses Wikipedia. So why is Wales worried about what Colbert is joking about on his show? Who cares? People want the site to stay the way it once was instead of turning into the crap this article describes.
     Reply
    NerD: Blattella promoted this comment Kaila Hale-Stern approved this comment JDawdson was starred JDawdson was unstarred
    Image of lobstr lobstr
    11/23/09

    @JDawdson: So, may I petition the resident inclusionist to restore the coveted and servicey Word Sandwich entry back to life? <3

    re: [en.wikipedia.org]
     Reply
    lobstr was starred lobstr was unstarred
    Image of JDawdson JDawdson
    11/24/09

    @lobstr: I wish I could, but if it doesn't meet the (currently stupid) notability guidelines, there's nothing I can do.

    It's worth noting your article was deleted two years ago and maybe circumstances have changed since then. Wikipedia's current web content notability guidelines are here: [en.wikipedia.org])
     Reply
    JDawdson was starred JDawdson was unstarred
    Image of hilikusopus hilikusopus
    11/23/09

    In reply to Wikipedia Gridlocked by Wikipedia Nerds
    No comment. Literally. I do not have a star.
     Reply
    raincoaster promoted this comment hilikusopus was starred hilikusopus was unstarred
    Image of raincoaster raincoaster
    11/23/09

    @hilikusopus: When you can snatch the Blackberry out of my hand, Grasshoppper...
     Reply
    raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred
    Image of hilikusopus hilikusopus
    11/24/09

    @raincoaster: The Tao is infinite, and it has the unlimited data plan.
     Reply
    hilikusopus was starred hilikusopus was unstarred
    Image of iplaudius iplaudius
    11/23/09

    In reply to Wikipedia Gridlocked by Wikipedia Nerds
    What started as a democratic open forum has become like the professional knowledge industry, academia: largely controlled by obsessive white males.
     Reply
    iplaudius was starred iplaudius was unstarred
    Image of raincoaster raincoaster
    11/23/09

    @iplaudius: Bingo.

    What was Wikipedia's great strength has been virtually outlawed by Wales. It's no longer "the crowd of interested people," it's "our crowd." And what's particularly self-destructive about this is that as the online world becomes more populated, the percentage of malevolent trolls actually decreases, so it's safer now to be open than it ever has been in the past.
     Reply
    raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred
    Image of lobstr lobstr
    11/23/09

    In reply to Wikipedia Gridlocked by Wikipedia Nerds
    All true.
    I coded a word game called [www.wordsandwich.com] and put it online about four years ago, and as it gained popularity, someone made a very generous Wiki page about it, explaining the rules and giving a little backstory. When I was alerted to this, I chimed in and added a few things -- then suddenly, this prick takes it down citing "No claim of notability"

    See for yourself:
    [en.wikipedia.org]

    Ever since then, anytime I see some bullshit entry about some asshole famewhore's bullshit, or a whole page about someone that appeared once on a reality show, I am reminded that Wiki's standards of notability are objective to what nazi editor comes across said content and anoints it worthy or unworthy.

    I'm not saying my shit is Bejewelled, but my game is played about 6000 times per week and is mentioned in a list of word games under Wiki's page on .. word games! Yet, a more detailed description of the game is somehow not allowed?

    Mike Rosoft, [en.wikipedia.org] , proud member of the "Counter-Vandalism Unit" has deemed my shit unworthy!

    Am I wrong in thinking this is one of those 350 pound dudes with the thick beards that sit around all day and talk relentless shit in IRC chatrooms and deletes Wiki pages to avenge the bullying he received in highschool?
     Reply
    Edited by lobstr at 11/23/09 12:14 PM lobstr was starred lobstr was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    11/23/09

    @lobstr: Why don't you just let him know that you made the game?
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of TedSez TedSez
    11/23/09

    @lobstr: I don't think a "claim of notability" necessarily means anything more than a few mentions in the mainstream press. For instance, your site's page could note that "Crosswords to Strain Your Brain author Trip Payne called Word Sandwich 'The Price is Right’s clock game, but with five-letter words' " -- with a reference note linking to the article in the Fort Worth Weekly. (Ditto the mentions on ESPN and Wired.)

    There's no guarantee that someone still won't take it down, but your chances of keeping it go up the more references you have. (Ironically, I don't think they value online references nearly as highly.)
     Reply
    TedSez was starred TedSez was unstarred
    Image of DavidWatts DavidWatts
    11/23/09

    @lobstr: I do some music journalism, and I was doing research on Wiki the other day (because I am such a good researcher) and EVERY SINGLE band I tried to read about had PREVIOUSLY had a page, but then had it deleted for exactly the same reason, "no claim of notability". I thought the whole point of wikipedia was that it let movie nerds, music nerds, and game nerds have a space to "authoritatively" lay out their various obsessions. Now that it's run by plain old nerd-nerds, it's a lot more picky, snotty, and elitist. Nerdy, in other words.
     Reply
    DavidWatts was starred DavidWatts was unstarred
    Image of Mo MoDo Mo MoDo
    11/23/09

    @lobstr: The N0tability Nazis are particularly brutal. The entry on Josh Fruhlinger's Comics Curmudgeon had been deleted several times despite it being the primary blog concerning comic strips.

    Meanwhile every single Transformer toy has 10,000 words of history devoted to it.

    It's not like an 'un-notable' entry costs anybody any paper.
     Reply
    Mo MoDo was starred Mo MoDo was unstarred
    Image of lobstr lobstr
    11/23/09

    @Pope John Peeps II: Hearing an appeal from me personally wouldn't raise the "notability" to the outside world in this guy's eyes.. and I think these dudes pride themselves on their judgment calls since they are the few that are allowed to make or break a page... but yet they left up the (now broken) link under a long list of "Word Games". I guess I won't be helpin them reach that $8m donation goal! :[]
     Reply
    lobstr was starred lobstr was unstarred
    Image of Astronaut Mike Dexter Astronaut Mike Dexter
    11/23/09

    In reply to Wikipedia Gridlocked by Wikipedia Nerds
    The other 13% are scrupulously removing all penis-related vandalism.
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II promoted this comment Astronaut Mike Dexter was starred Astronaut Mike Dexter was unstarred
    Image of Pope John Peeps II Pope John Peeps II
    11/23/09

    @OokieDookie: "Lady Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of Penis during the 1980s."
     Reply
    Pope John Peeps II was starred Pope John Peeps II was unstarred
    Image of smithhimself smithhimself
    11/23/09

    In reply to Wikipedia Gridlocked by Wikipedia Nerds
    In articles where lots of nerds are watching and censoring, the fairness level is fairly high. Take a look at the articles on "birthers" or "Armenian genocide" etc.

    I no longer used Wiki as a reference before reading a manuscript or taking a meeting. If the entry concerns a particular living author, then one lonely loser with an opinion will cut and censor anything that doesn't agree with his own "artistic vision."
     Reply
    smithhimself was starred smithhimself was unstarred
    Image of the.bleach the.bleach
    11/23/09

    In reply to Wikipedia Gridlocked by Wikipedia Nerds
    I had a month-long battle with a "proud Asberger's" Wiki Editor trying to correct my boss's birthdate. Apparently me looking at his driver's license and entering the date wasn't proof enough, and eventually my whole IP address was suspended.
     Reply
    valet_of_the_dolls promoted this comment the.bleach was starred the.bleach was unstarred
    Image of valet_of_the_dolls valet_of_the_dolls
    11/23/09

    @the.bleach: Doesn't everyone who edits Wikipedia have (self-diagnosed) Aspergers?
     Reply
    valet_of_the_dolls was starred valet_of_the_dolls was unstarred
    Image of random_play random_play
    11/23/09

    @the.bleach: Was your boss Jimmy Wales?
     Reply
    random_play was starred random_play was unstarred
    Image of Richard Petty Bourgeoisie Richard Petty Bourgeoisie
    11/23/09

    In reply to Wikipedia Gridlocked by Wikipedia Nerds
    This explains why the article on "vagina" is in the fiction section.
     Reply
    Richard Petty Bourgeoisie was starred Richard Petty Bourgeoisie was unstarred
    Image of Deric Deric
    11/23/09

    @Richard Petty Bourgeoisie: Under Warcraft spells which render nerdwarves speechless.
     Reply
    Deric was starred Deric was unstarred
    Image of If_I_Had_a_Poodle If_I_Had_a_Poodle
    11/23/09

    @Richard Petty Bourgeoisie: Also, boobies
     Reply
    If_I_Had_a_Poodle was starred If_I_Had_a_Poodle was unstarred
    Image of Don Servillas Don Servillas
    11/03/09

    In reply to Anderson Cooper's Boyfriend: The Shirtless Edition
    I don't understand some gay men. Some are gifted like this one, a CUNY scholar with a 4.0 GPA, yet he got stuck in the chelsea gay stereotype of being a steroid queen and posing almost naked in gay magazines and owning a gay bar! I mean c'mon, if you are gifted with intelligence and talent, why not go out and change the world? I guess the superficial life of gay glitz, glamour and circuit parties is just too enticing for some. #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    mostlymartian promoted this comment Don Servillas was starred Don Servillas was unstarred
    Image of mostlymartian mostlymartian
    11/03/09

    @Don Servillas: How many people are really changing the world at their job? There are lots of high flying lucrative careers that have lots of superficiality and don't make the world a better place.

    He's his own boss, he's not stuck in cubicle-land, he works with friends, and he's around cute gay guys. He and his partners maintain nice bodies they sometimes use in ways to help promote their small business. Maybe he put fun over ambition, but I'm not seeing how his life path is so horrible. #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    mostlymartian was starred mostlymartian was unstarred
    Image of Alessar Alessar
    11/04/09

    @mostlymartian: I'm not either. If you're making a good living and enjoying life... that's fantastic. In comparison I took my near 4.0 gpa and got a dead end office job and a spare tire. #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    Alessar was starred Alessar was unstarred
    Image of BettyCrocker BettyCrocker
    11/03/09

    In reply to Anderson Cooper's Boyfriend: The Shirtless Edition
    Schweaty! #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    BettyCrocker was starred BettyCrocker was unstarred
    Image of jok695 jok695
    11/03/09

    In reply to Anderson Cooper's Boyfriend: The Shirtless Edition
    Hear, hear! to MessiahsHandle. As a fan of the Coop, I've been surprised at the choice of mates he's been associated with. Sounds totally snotty, but welcome to the real world. An Ivy Leaguer and so-called world respected journalist traipsing about with cookie cutter wine salesmen (Julio) and bartenders (Ben)? Is there such a shortage of gay men who can match him point for point in terms of refinement and education? Lucky boys these guys who get to marry WAY above their stations, and only because of the way they look. I supposed Andy is truly gay after all. Typical shallow looksist elitist queen.
     Reply
    manchops promoted this comment jok695 was starred jok695 was unstarred
    Image of manchops manchops
    11/03/09

    @jok695: AC has actually gone up a few notches in my book for this kinda thing. Hell, he's human. I think I'd be more apt to call him shallow/lookist/elitist if I had to open up the styles of the times and see his wedding photos to some other huge media freak such as the trump/kushner nuptials from a week ago. Slum on silver fox! #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    manchops was starred manchops was unstarred
    Image of Zira Zira
    11/03/09

    @jok695: Dating someone you're attracted to doesn't make you shallow. But I wonder how the Coop and Maisani can have a normal relationship when Maisani is tending bar into the wee hours of the night each night including weekends. They must be on totally different schedules. #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    mostlymartian promoted this comment Zira was starred Zira was unstarred
    Image of mostlymartian mostlymartian
    11/03/09

    @Oryx Hearts Crake: Maisani has been doing very little of the bartending at his bar for months. He has bartending partners and staff bartenders. He's seen out all the time doing things with AC. #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    mostlymartian was starred mostlymartian was unstarred
    Image of mostlymartian mostlymartian
    11/03/09

    @jok695: You actually sound like the elitist one. "Above their stations"? Are we in the 1800s?

    Cooper is a well travelled guy who comes across as very down to earth for a wealthy famous Vanderbilt. What's the big deal what if he's attracted to immigrants working common jobs instead of American Ivy League captains of industry?

    Lookism? Julio and Ben look like cute and fit guys in their 30s but I doubt either one of them has been fighting off modelling contracts. #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    mostlymartian was starred mostlymartian was unstarred
    Image of MincnglyWhrdL'mer MincnglyWhrdL'mer
    11/03/09

    In reply to Anderson Cooper's Boyfriend: The Shirtless Edition
    this is hysterical. he's actually much better looking in person, and (in my limited experience) surprisingly NICE #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    MincnglyWhrdL'mer was starred MincnglyWhrdL'mer was unstarred
    Image of MessiahsHandle MessiahsHandle
    11/03/09

    In reply to Anderson Cooper's Boyfriend: The Shirtless Edition
    When I heard that the Coop was dating this guy it was as if something inside had died... forgive the melodrama, but I believe in this case it's warranted. You imagine that a smart, successful journalist would chose someone who was worthy of...at the very least, my intellectual fantasy. An equally smart and successful gay, quiet, maybe bookish, or perhaps a designer or artist - not tortured, but focused and independent. Someone who's able to stand on his own whilst Anderson is braving hurricanes on the gulf coast or dodging bullets in Waziristan...but alas Coop you consistently choose the stereotypical gays. Hunky boricuas, twinky latinos, and now a muscly beefcake beau hunk who straddles the line between Sean Cody and Honcho... more often shirtless than shirted..AND owner of a gay bar? Really, Andy? He can't even publicly declare he's gay, but chooses time and time again to shop at the Duplex? It's all so terribly cliché. Well enough is enough, my celebrity crush is officially over...That's "Se acabo" to you, Anderson. Ok Maisani was the valedictorian at CUNY, but I think the naked arm wrestling, the fondling of drag queens, the perpetual shirtlessness has nullified what little respect I may have had for the man. This guy had better be a fucking closeted Proust scholar before I regain any respect for the Coop. But somehow I fear that it's just too late, baby.
     Reply
    Edited by MessiahsHandle at 11/03/09 2:05 AM MessiahsHandle was starred MessiahsHandle was unstarred
    Image of MincnglyWhrdL'mer MincnglyWhrdL'mer
    11/03/09

    @MessiahsHandle: I'm sure coop is devistated to have lost you. really. #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    MincnglyWhrdL'mer was starred MincnglyWhrdL'mer was unstarred
    Image of mostlymartian mostlymartian
    11/03/09

    @MessiahsHandle: Pretty much all the male celebrity gays choose partners substantially less successful than themselves, no? The closest thing to a power couple I can think of is Siegried and Roy, and I don't even know if they're actually a couple.

    Dating someone opposite to you in some ways can be good. Two repressed quiet whitebread WASPs would be one really repressed quiet whitebread household. And would a bookish designer be up for things like shark diving and the Real Housewives of Atlanta? #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    mostlymartian was starred mostlymartian was unstarred
    Image of StonedAndDethroned StonedAndDethroned
    11/03/09

    @MessiahsHandle: Save it for your therapist, buddy. #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    StonedAndDethroned was starred StonedAndDethroned was unstarred
    Image of Urbania Urbania
    11/03/09

    @MessiahsHandle: Yeah. That. All those words you typed. Or, you know, the guy might be an extraordinarily loving person, which is exactly what Anderson Cooper is looking for. #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    Urbania was starred Urbania was unstarred
    Image of Mariallena Mariallena
    11/03/09

    @mostlymartian:
    " The closest thing to a power couple I can think of is Siegried and Roy, "

    The original American gay power couple were J Edgard Hoover and Clyde Tolson.

    They ruled (and completely transformed) law enforcement in this country for 4 decaddes. #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    valet_of_the_dolls promoted this comment Mariallena was starred Mariallena was unstarred
    Image of Alessar Alessar
    11/04/09

    @MessiahsHandle: CUNY scholar with 4.0 GPA who owns his own business (albeit a bar/club) is not exactly a himbo. #benjaminmaisani
     Reply
    Alessar was starred Alessar was unstarred
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