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Deletionism and inclusionism in Wikipedia

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Inclusionism and deletionism are opposing philosophies in Wikipedia and possibly other wiki communities[citation needed] regarding the criteria for including or deleting content.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

On Wikipedia, deletionists generally argue for the deletion of articles that are short and poorly written,[9] unreferenced or referenced only by Web-based sources and blogs, that appear to fail the community standards of notability,[10][4] that exclusively contain trivia or popular culture references, or any other types of articles deemed unencyclopedic.

Inclusionists generally err on the side of more content, a higher tolerance of "stub" articles and newer members who may not yet be familiar with Wikipedia's policies, and an acceptance of notable blogs and other Web-based sources.[10][11]

Background

Screen shot of a June 2007 deletion review discussion regarding an article titled "DKP"

Due to concerns about vandalism and appropriateness of content, wikis require policies regarding inclusion.[12] Wikipedia has developed spaces for governance and conflict resolution regarding the disputes for individual articles.[13] These debates, which can be initiated by anyone,[2] take place on a page called "articles for deletion."[14] Much discussion concerns not only the content of each article in question, but also "differing perspectives on how to edit an ideal encyclopedia."[7]

At the end of each debate, an administrator judges consensus to take action. Articles that do not require debate are speedily deleted by administrators.[15] If the administrator's decision is refuted, then the discussion can be taken to "deletion review," where anyone may continue the debate at a different level. In controversial cases, the debates can spread to other places on the Internet.[16][17]

Positions

The Association of Inclusionist Wikipedians and the Association of Deletionist Wikipedians were founded by administrators.[9] Each has a Wikimedia page listing their respective members, charters and principles. While written in humorous tones, they reveal the perceived importance of Wikipedia held by the members.[18]

Inclusionists may argue that the interest of a few is a sufficient condition for the existence of an article, since such articles are harmless and there is no restriction on space in Wikipedia.[10][11] Favoring the idiosyncratic and subjective,[7] an inclusionist slogan is "Wikipedia is not paper."[2]

On the other hand, deletionists favor objectivity and conformity,[7] holding that "Wikipedia is not Google,"[9] a "junkyard,"[2] or "a dumping ground for facts."[19] They may argue that the interest of enough people is a necessary condition for article quality.[16] They advocate the establishment and enforcement of specific standards and policies[9] as a form of jurisprudence.[18]

There may be a generation gap between the two sides. According to a veteran contributor, newer members are less likely to have helped delete articles that should have been kept on hindsight, and so exercise less caution.[19] A journalism professor asserted that deletionism is a mentality that manifests on itself once the emphasis went from quantity to quality.[6]

As a compromise, a librarian proposed the questionable idea of a "Wikimorgue" that would publicly show the contents of all deleted articles.[6]

Notable inclusionists and deletionists

Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger identified himself as an inclusionist, being open to any family-friendly content, subject to community decision, for his Citizendium project.[20]

File:PulsiferLargerWiki.jpg
Simon Pulsifer, a prolific Wikipedia inclusionist editor whose biography on Wikipedia was the subject of controversy covered in the media.

Prolific editor Simon Pulsifer advocates for wide coverage, and has employed the tactic of restoring a deleted article, hoping no one would notice.[16]

Andrew Lih, a deletionist-turned inclusionist, observes a cultural shift from Wikipedia's initial expansion in that it has become more cautious. He changed his position when an article he created about the social networking website Pownce was speedily deleted by another administrator as advertising.[16]

Alternatives

Between the two factions, a host of groups have been formed that are not mutually exclusive.[8]

In November 2004, editor Reene Sylverwind created the Association of Mergist Wikipedians to promote a middle ground between the two factions,[1] as not all deletion debates result in keeping or deleting the article entirely. A merge from one article to another is executed by moving the relevant content from the former to the latter, and redirecting the former to the latter. This is a sort of balance[18] since the content still exists for the inclusionist, while the original article no longer exists by itself for the deletionist arguing against its unencyclopedic nature.

Another group between the two factions is the Association of Wikipedians Who Dislike Making Broad Judgements About the Worthiness of a General Category of Article, and Who Are in Favor of the Deletion of Some Particularly Bad Articles, but That Doesn't Mean They Are Deletionist.[2]

Criticism

A critic has noted the large amount of wasted effort that goes into deletion debates.[21] Being called an inclusionist or deletionist could sidetrack the issue from the actual debate,[1] which may contribute to community disintegration,[10] restriction of information,[16] or a decrease in the rate of article creation that suggests a decrease in passion and motivation amongst editors.[22] Nevertheless, some have observed that the interaction between the two factions may actually result in an enhancement of overall quality of content.[5]

Such debates have sparked the creation of websites critical of Wikipedia such as Wikitruth, which watches for articles in risk of deletion.[6] Wikipedia media officer Brian McNeil noted that every encyclopedia experiences internal battles, the difference being that those of Wikipedia are public.[16]

Controversial debates

Jimbo Wales, founder of Wikipedia, found himself in the center of a widely-publicized deletion controversy.

Specific cases of disputes between deletionists and inclusionists have attracted media coverage.

The article on South African restaurant Mzoli's Meats was nominated for deletion after being created by Wikipedia founder Jimbo Wales, who said that supporters of deletion displayed "shockingly bad faith behavior." The article was kept after a multitude of editors helped work on it.[19] The consequence is that while inclusionists can say the deleting administrator crossed the line, deletionists can say that the process works as notability was established.[5]

In February 2007, an editor who had previously aligned himself with deletionism before coming to adhere to what he calls "significantism", an emphasis on Wikipedia's sense of notability over importance,[23] nominated the article on Terry Shannon for deletion for a lack of sources and therefore notability, a decision ridiculed by The Inquirer.[24] The proposal was overturned by overwhelming opposition.

The deletion of the biography of television anchor Susan Peters and the article for the Pownce website also sparked controversy.[10]

Subjects of deleted articles

In July 2006, The Inquirer was offended by claims made by certain Wikipedia editors that it conspired with Everywhere Girl to create her phenomenon. They observed an apparent campaign to remove all references to Everywhere Girl on Wikipedia.[25] Later, they found it contrary to common sense that what became included on Wikipedia was their series of reports on the deletions of the Wikipedia article.[26]

In December 2006, writer and composer Matthew Dallman found that Wikipedia's biography of him was under debate, and became drawn to the vote counts. He was deciding to not participate on his own behalf due to Wikipedia's apparent dislike of self-promotion, saying that "It's like I'm on trial and I can't testify," though he would not be able to resist the urge.[14]

Andrew Klein was disappointed that the article on his webcomic Cake Pony was deleted, despite his claims that the "article contains valuable and factual information about a popular internet meme." He conceded that "it's their site and you've got to play by their rules."[14]

Slate.com and Wall Street Journal writer Timothy Noah documented his "career as an encyclopedia entry," and questioned the need for rules on notability in addition to rules on verifiability.[27] Ironically, the biography of Noah ended up being kept due to his article on Wikipedia resulting in death threats.[11]

Scholarly research

At the 2005 Digital Arts and Culture Conference, the two factions were discussed as examples among eventualism and immediatism in a successful large-scale architecture of participation.[7]

The Institut national de recherche pédagogique (National Institute for Educational Research) in France, in case studies of Wikipedia, reported that while it was difficult to measure the influence of the factions as of April 2006, their existence is indicative of Wikipedia's internal dynamics consisting of multiple identities,[18] and may play progressively increasing roles.[8]

Deletion debates over an article on Enterprise 2.0 sparked a study by the Harvard Business School.[2]

In the journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, a study of Wikipedia social dynamics called inclusionism and deletionism the two most prominent associations within Wikipedia. They observe that users in the same role (administrator, etc.) may hold different perspectives, and that "the diversity of member [information quality] preferences and the low cost of forming or switching associations may encourage schism in an existing association or evolution of new groups." At the same time, the associations may help to better critique existing policies and to find and achieve points of convergence.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c Nicole Gaudiano (2006-02-27). "Inside the world of Wikipedians, there's drama, politics and love". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f Karim R. Lakhani and Andrew P. McAfee (2007). "Debates and Controversies in Wikipedia". Harvard Business School. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  3. ^ David E. Gumpert (2007-09-05). "A Case Study in Online Promotion". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b "Marked for Deletion". Weekend America. National Public Radio. 2007-01-20. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ a b c Brock Read (2007-10-03). "A War of Words on Wikipedia". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b c d K.G. Schneider (2007-09-26). "Wikipedia's Awkward Adolescence". CIO. IDG. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d e Scott Rettberg of The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (2005). "All Together Now: Collective Knowledge, Collective Narratives, and Architectures of Participation" (PDF). Digital Arts and Culture Conference Proceedings. p. 8. Retrieved 2008-01-24. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 51 (help)
  8. ^ a b c Laure Endrizzi (2007-01-31). "La communauté comme auteur et éditeur: l'exemple de Wikipédia" (DOC) (in French). Institut national de recherche pédagogique: 7–8. Retrieved 2008-01-24. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  9. ^ a b c d e Besiki Stvilia, Michael B. Twidale, Linda C. Smith, and Les Gasser (2007). "Information Quality Work Organization in Wikipedia" (PDF). Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology: 16, 31. Retrieved 2008-01-24.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ a b c d e Ian Douglas (2007-10-11). "Delete generation rips encyclopedia apart". telegraph.co.uk, The Age. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Also published by The Age on 2007-10-13.
  11. ^ a b c Nick Farrell (2007-02-26). "Hack got death threats from Wikipidiots". The Inquirer. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Lowell Bryan, Mobilizing Minds: Creating Wealth from Talent in the 21st Century Organization, p. 223, McGraw-Hill (2007), ISBN 978-0071490825
  13. ^ Yochai Benkler, The Wealth of Networks, p. 73, Yale University Press (2006), ISBN 978-0300125771
  14. ^ a b c David Segal (2006-12-03). "Look Me Up Under 'Missing Link': On Wikipedia, Oblivion Looms for the Non-Notable". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Dirk Riehle (2006-08-23). "How and Why Wikipedia Works: An Interview with Angela Beesley, Elisabeth Bauer, and Kizu Naoko" (PDF). International Symposium on Wikis. Retrieved 2008-01-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ a b c d e f Janice Tibbetts (2007-12-27). "Wikipedia warriors hit delete". National Post. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ The Letterman (2006-07-19). "Let Cher Price join Everywhere Girl in the dustbin of history". The Inquirer. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ a b c d "L'édition de référence libre et collaborative : le cas de Wikipedia" (PDF). Les dossiers de la veille (in French). Institut national de recherche pédagogique: 25. April 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-24.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  19. ^ a b c David Sarno (2007-09-30). "Wikipedia wars erupt". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Nate Anderson (2007-02-25). "Citizendium: building a better Wikipedia". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Jason Scott (2006-04-08). "The Great Failure of Wikipedia" (transcript). Notacon 3. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Konrad Lischka, Oct. 12, 2007, Wikipedia-Leidenschaft kühlt ab, http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/0,1518,511134,00.html
  23. ^ Leflyman (2007-02-22). "User:Leflyman". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Mike Magee (2007-02-22). "Terry Shannon nominated for Wikipedia deletion". The Inquirer. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ Adamson Rust (2006-07-14). "Everywhere Girl: You're deleted". The Inquirer. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ "Wiki high executioner executes Everywhere Girl". The Inquirer. 2007-01-30. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ Timothy Noah (2007-02-25). "I'm Being Wiki-Whacked". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Also published by The China Post on 2007-03-03.

External links

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