Wikipedia Banned Its Co-Founder Because Its Rules Mostly Work
12 hours ago
- #editorial integrity
- #knowledge freedom
- #Wikipedia rules
- Larry Sanger was banned from Wikipedia for canvassing and not contributing to building an encyclopedia, not for proposing WikiProject Intellectual Diversity.
- Wikipedia's existing rules, like verifiability and neutral point of view, already support balanced articles but require patience, research, and cooperation to implement.
- Editors routinely fix bias and disinformation in articles, using layered guidance for sources and dispute resolution processes that work well but demand skill.
- Sanger's advocacy aligns with right-wing campaigns against free information, and his proposals, such as ending administrator anonymity, could undermine intellectual freedom.
- Improving Wikipedia requires intellectual honesty and applying established rules, not bad-faith publicity stunts, and benefits from diverse contributors willing to collaborate.