Delete Dont Justify

I've said a lot of stupid things here on Wiki. Someone always calls me on it, and when I realize how much stupid stuff I've said, my first instinct is to save face by saying something like "Oops, you're right, sorry I should've read more carefully, it was really late and I was pretty tired" or something lame like that. You know, so people 'round here won't think I'm a complete idiot.

But then, that's not a very Wiki way to do things, is it? Seems much cleaner to just quietly delete the dumb things you said, maybe trying to preserve anything that was said that's actually worth keeping. (Usually these parts are written by other people in response to my dumb thing.) Sure, there are possibly lots of people reading the thread whose opinion I care about. But there will be a lot more readers in the future who will come across the page, and my retraction would just be noise to them, wouldn't it?

(And really, those little explanations probably don't do much to save face, anyway.)

-- FrancisHwang

I think stupid statements and their counters are valuable. I also have written many things that were abjectly stupid in retrospect, but I leave them in so that others will not make the same kind of mistakes. After all discussion is finished, a fully refactored page could probably list the conclusions, followed by possible objections and answers to the objections in a non-thread mode kind of way, at which time your name could be listed as a contributor to the page in general if you like. For example, if this counter-argument convinces you, you would not delete this entire page. --AndyPierce

Maybe there's a difference between interesting-stupid and just-plain-stupid. If I have a misconception about an idea, then my bumbling is potentially very useful to someone else who might also have the same misconceptions. But, say, if I say something redundant because I just wasn't reading very carefully (I just did this today) then nobody's really going to learn much by reading the exchange. Unless that something is "read carefully". And that's just obvious-stupid. -- fh

I find that MinorEdits are a good way to delete my stupidity without anybody noticing. The page doesn't change places in RecentChanges or QuickChanges so people who have already read my idiocy won't go back and see me removing it and people who haven't read it yet will have no clue I wrote something silly. Besides, WikiForgets? is part of WhyWikiWorks.

I do agree about the importance of erasing stupidity from the web (and especially the Wiki) in a "gentlemanly" ("gentlewomanly" !) manner. If we don't do so, say, if we leave all the trash piling up, then what we make of Internet is not worth its reputation, and leads to no real debate on things. A community like the Wiki has a certain «moral obligation» to be rigorous, to convey interesting and credible information. It must give arguments to those who are investigating on real issues. When we do try to offer that type of information, we build up our name, and help people who come across our web site with independent and constructive thought. I believe it is the essence of such a community as ours, to offer an alternative based on the values of free speech, mutual respect, and cooperation as well as rigor and quality. -- EliseParadis

CategoryDelete