Difference between revisions of "Wikipedia through the Looking Glass"

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(Chapters)
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#2001 (March-July) The growth of the wiki.  The influence of [[Richard Stallman]]. Free software and open source software. [[The Cathedral and the Bazaar]].  14 pages - '''Needs tidying'''.
 
#2001 (March-July) The growth of the wiki.  The influence of [[Richard Stallman]]. Free software and open source software. [[The Cathedral and the Bazaar]].  14 pages - '''Needs tidying'''.
 
#2001-2002 The [[Slashdot]] invasion, and what 'The Internet' really is.  [[The Cunctator]] and the leadership crisis.  17 pages - '''Needs considerable work'''.
 
#2001-2002 The [[Slashdot]] invasion, and what 'The Internet' really is.  [[The Cunctator]] and the leadership crisis.  17 pages - '''Needs considerable work'''.
#2002-2012 Who are the Wikipedians? Really?. '''Not started'''.
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#2002-2012 Who are the Wikipedians?  '''Not started'''.
 
#2002 The [[Advertising#Spanish_fork|Spanish Fork]] and advertising on Wikipedia.  '''In good shape'''.
 
#2002 The [[Advertising#Spanish_fork|Spanish Fork]] and advertising on Wikipedia.  '''In good shape'''.
 
#2002-3  The rise of the [[Robots]] – Wikipedia as 'aggregation engine' not 'crowdsourcing'.  9 pages - '''Needs finishing'''.
 
#2002-3  The rise of the [[Robots]] – Wikipedia as 'aggregation engine' not 'crowdsourcing'.  9 pages - '''Needs finishing'''.

Revision as of 02:22, 26 August 2012

Wikipedia through the Looking Glass is the working title for a book about Wikipedia, by Edward Buckner, co-written with Eric Barbour. Alternative title FREAK SHOW: An Uncensored Look Inside Wikipedia.

The book reveals, for the first time, the truth behind the origin of Wikipedia, its spectacular growth into one of the world's most visited websites, the struggles to control it, and the covert agenda and political ambitions of those who now run it, including its relations with vested interests such as the 'tech' industry.

The book relies on extensive research, previously unpublished archive material, interviews with supporters - including those closest to Wikipedia's co-founder Jimmy Wales - and critics, such as disaffected Wikipedians who lost power in the successive purges of its leadership.

The authors

Edward Buckner is a philosopher and historian based in London. His most recent book (Time and Existence: Duns Scotus' Questions on Aristotle's Peri Hermenias), written with Jack Zupko, has now been approved by reviewers at CUA press.

Co-author Eric Barbour, based in California, is the former co-founder of Vacuum Tube Valley magazine, and has won awards for his writings on the early history of electronics. He is the owner and founder of Metasonix, the world's only company making music synthesizers out of vacuum tubes.

The market

The book competes with works like Andrew Lih's The Wikipedia Revolution and Charles Matthews' How Wikipedia Works. However, it will be the first book to take a critical and analytical view of Wikipedia, and it includes material entirely omitted from previous books, such as the influence of the pedophile movement and the pornography industry, as well as archive material once thought lost. It is aimed a non-technical readership, and is of general intellectual interest.

Chapters

Founder and co-founder with Wikipedians
  1. 1994 Jimbo, the Chicago futures markets and how Wikipedia was intended to work. 10 pages - In good shape.
  2. 1996 The early days of Bomis. What it was, and its influence on Wikipedia. 10 pages - In good shape.
  3. 1998-2000 The move to San Diego, Larry Sanger is hired, the early days of Nupedia. 15 pages - In good shape.
  4. 2000-2001 The birth of Wikipedia (the true story). 12 pages - In good shape.
  5. 2001 (March-July) The growth of the wiki. The influence of Richard Stallman. Free software and open source software. The Cathedral and the Bazaar. 14 pages - Needs tidying.
  6. 2001-2002 The Slashdot invasion, and what 'The Internet' really is. The Cunctator and the leadership crisis. 17 pages - Needs considerable work.
  7. 2002-2012 Who are the Wikipedians? Not started.
  8. 2002 The Spanish Fork and advertising on Wikipedia. In good shape.
  9. 2002-3 The rise of the Robots – Wikipedia as 'aggregation engine' not 'crowdsourcing'. 9 pages - Needs finishing.
  10. 2003 Michael Davis moves from Chicago to Florida. His role in the Wikimedia Foundation. Advertising. Not started.
  11. 2004 Jon Schillaci starts the "Wikipedia campaign". The problem of conflict of interest. Not started.
  12. 2004 The LaRouche and other edit wars. Why conflict of interest is endemic in Wikipedia. Not started.
  13. 2005-7 The Wikipedia 'golden age': the rise and fall of the 'content contributors'. Not started.
  14. 2005 John Seigenthaler and Daniel Brandt and why Wikipedia is still vulnerable to malicious biography. The problem of anonymity and conflict of interest. 15 pages - Needs some work.
  15. 2006-7 The Essjay affair and the lessons that failed to be learned. 16 pages - In good shape.
  16. 2007 – The problem of Philosophy on Wikipedia. Why crowdsourcing will never write the Critique of Pure Reason. 16 pages - Needs further work.
  17. 2005-2008 Morrow gets out of jail. His history and how the WMF fail to address the problem of the mentally ill on Wikipedia. First draft complete - looking good.
  18. 2008 The Anvil email and its aftermath. The Wikipedia 'security police'. First draft complete.
  19. 2010 Why Wikipedia must not be censored, and how Jimbo was nearly removed as founder. Why there must be as much pornography as possible on Wikipedia. Not started.
  20. 2011-12 The SOPA protest and Wikipedia's alignment with the tech industry. Not started.
  21. 2012 Ashley van Haeften, harassment and the problem of Wikipedia reform. Not started.


>*************************************************
>* http://www.nupedia.com/ *
>* The Ever Expanding Open Source Encyclopedia *
>*************************************************

See also