Talk:Why a cabal is perceived

Wikipedia might alter the balance that exists outside Wikipedia edit

Divergence of view points on a given subject is common outside Wikipedia. For some subjects, this divergence is more important. Moreover, there are recognised religious, political or business oriented groups that normally advocate different point of views. So, there is a dynamic outside Wikipedia and we expect that this dynamic will influence Wikipedia. I believe this mostly happen naturally without any hidden collusion within Wikipedia from these groups. Most groups will not feel the need for that. Editors within a given group does not need to know their real life identities. They still have the common thinking of the group. However, this is not the end of the story. It is still possible that Wikipedia alters the balance that exists between the different views outside Wikipedia. I believe that it does. The key explanation is that the Wikipedia editors are not at all in the same category as the editors outside Wikipedia. The fact that contributions can be anonymous is an important element that can explain this difference. The resulting bias can easily create the impression that there is some hidden collusion, but I don't think there is. A collusion is not needed to explain any bias or apparent collusion within Wikipedia. Edith Sirius Lee 21:43, 6 August 2010 (UTC)Reply

I was once involved in a minor edit war on The unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP). I spent hours overhauling a page (must-have mods), cutting it down to size, tailoring the summaries, adding new information and version info etcetera etcetera. Then, out of the blue, an administrator decided to remove one of the mods I added to the list. I had documented my entire overhaul on the talk page, giving detailed reasons for my edits. The administrator didn't bother starting a discussion there, he just removed it. I reverted him, telling him to start a discussion, but he removed it again. It continued until another administrator removed it; he then accused me of edit-warring. I reverted that as well, telling him to discuss it on the talk-page, but they threatened to block me from the wiki. When I said that I would not bow to their terrorism, they accused me of making threats. I pointed that irony out, but they accused me of violating consensus. Remember that I was the one who started the discussion. There was no consensus on the talk-page, no input from them at all. Eventually I gave up and shortly thereafter my entire overhaul was undone. From that point on, my every edit was reverted by the first administrator. In one instance, I resized an image which had stood for months; an hour later, the administrator removed it citing "possible copyright violation". The image was created by the user who uploaded it, and he gave the wiki full rights for its use. The administrator even reverted my additions to talk pages. I, Englishman 01:35, 26 August 2010 (UTC)Reply

Collusions outside of wikipedia edit

Keep in mind that Wikipedia is NOT a democracy, so concensus may not matter in some matters. WP:NOT 00:13, 9 May 2020 (UTC)~

Return to "Why a cabal is perceived" page.