akolbe

Joined 12 years ago

Karma
4,566
Submissions
657
Member since
Sep 22
Wikipedian, Editor Emeritus of the Wikipedia Signpost, Wikipedia's community newspaper; occasional freelance journalist for the Daily Dot and The Register. @Wikiland on Twitter.
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Recent submissions

Comment · 3 months ago
Comment · 3 months ago
Yes, that is a good example. I used to be cynical about these uses of money until I met a 70-year-old volunteer who regularly attends international cycling championships to take pictures of the cyclists. She is totally devoted to documenting the sport and is not by any stretch of the imagination getting rich doing that or living in luxury. So I've changed my mind: her being able to do that is a good thing for her, for Wikipedia and for the sportspeople involved in these championships. YMMV.
Comment · 3 months ago
Comment · 11 months ago
One good thing is that unlike AI, Wikipedia at least allows you to see how an article grew. Yes, for the most part you only see pseudonyms in the edit history, but they represent individual editors with discernible interests and biases, whereas an AI-based 'pedia is a black box.

You can argue with Wikipedians; with an AI-'pedia, not so much.

Comment · 2 years ago
Hasidic teaching stories are charming. Here is one:

When Rabbi Zusha was on his deathbed, his students found him in great distress. They tried to comfort him by telling him that he was almost as wise as Moses, so he was sure to be judged positively in Heaven. He replied, "When I pass from this world and appear before the Heavenly Tribunal, they won't ask me, 'Zusha, why weren't you as wise as Moses?' They will ask me, 'Zusha, why weren't you Zusha?'"

Comment · 2 years ago

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