The Journal That Speaks Truth to Wikiality

[

mood

accomplished

]

A heart-felt, though tongue-in-cheek (fittingly;), homage to my once and future favorite Wikimedia criticism site. The embed contains the original song and lyrics. Apologies in advance.
Love and truth forever,
R.D.H. (Ghost In The Machine)

When there's trouble you know who to call-
TEAM TRUTHER!
From their tower, they can see it all
TEAM TRUTHER!

When the truth comes under attack
From King Jimbo and his cabal on crack
They'll be right there telling it like it is
Team Truther GO!

With their Truther powers they unite
TEAM TRUTHER!
Never met a con or cultist that they liked
TEAM TRUTHER!

They've got the god kings on the run
They'll never stop 'till their job is done
'Cause when the Wiki-world is losing all control
TEAM TRUTHER GO!

With your lying intentions you better watch out
When they catch you there will be no doubt
You've been beaten by the team!
(and eaten by the teens!)

T-E-A-M T-R-U-T-H-E-R! TEAM TRUTHER! Let's go!
T-E-A-M T-R-U-T-H-E-R! TEAM TRUTHER! Let's go!
T-E-A-M T-R-U-T-H-E-R! TEAM TRUTHER! Let's go!
T-E-A-M T-R-U-T-H-E-R! TEAM TRUTHER! Let's go!

WikiTruth.info GO! WikiTruth.info GO!
1, 2, 3, 4 GO! Team Truther!

This Just In: Money Talks!

[Jan. 27th, 2009|11:24 am]

In our last episode, last year; after an exchange of pleasantries and kind words, Patrick Byrne invited me to peek into part of the deep dark rabbit hole he and his Deepcapture colleagues have uncovered regarding corruption on Wall Street. In particular Jimmy Wales' part in it, about which I'd been speculating.

http://www.deepcapture.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/deepcapture-the-story-v1.pdf

Page 29 makes it clear what Jimmy's stake is, or at least where his perspective on the issues of Naked Shorting, Byrne, Bagley, Weiss et al comes from.

Did Jimbo Wales give special protection to Gary Weiss and Slim Virgin, allowing them to hijack this (the article on Naked short selling) and other (on phantom stock, Patrick Byrne, Overstock.com, Gary Weiss ) Wikipedia pages? It is perhaps too early to say for sure, but it is worth understanding a little bit about Jimbo Wales' prior career.

To summarize: Before (co) founding Wikipedia, Wales owned a soft core porn site. Before (co) founding a soft core porn site, Wales was a key player in the precise area of the Chicago options market where naked short sales are often negotiated.

"But Jimmy has not worn his magical options trader hat for over a decade!" you say? True, but he still has cronies and connections to his old life (such circles are a lot like the Mafia, in that you never really leave completely). Most interesting of whom for our investigations here is one Michael E. Davis.

Let's see what the WikiTruthers have to say about Jimmy's old bud Mike E:

"Michael E. Davis, who worked with Jimmy at Chicago Options Associates as the CEO, that is, the grand poobah, the big kahuna.

Mr. Davis was sued by a Brian Dowling over contract agreements of compensation in lieu of negotiations to join COA. Ultimately, Davis lost this case and was found at fault, and was told in October of 2002 that he was to pay Mr. Downing the paltry sum of $817,830.45. That's a lot of money.

After losing the court case, Michael Davis shifted a lot of money into a lot of directions, all of which he claims are legitimate, but which basically made it very hard for the winner in the case, Brian Dowling, to get his money. So Dowling filed appeals and tried to get the money back, including a lot of money that was given to Davis' lawyers as a "retainer".

Now, why do we give a flying goddamn about what happened to some ex-co-worker of Jimbo Wales 10 years ago?

Because Michael E. Davis is now on the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia foundation and Chief Operating Officer of Wikia, Inc."

When that article on Wikitruth was written back in August 06, thus was his status. He later became Treasurer of both for profit Wikia and the famously non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, until he mysteriously stepped down late the following year, right about the same time that Jimbo began musing on the Wikia mailing list about the possibility of Mantanmoreland being Gary Weiss.

So to whom do you think, oh best beloved, is our mercurial, money-loving Jimmy Fudpucker going to listen to on these matters? Patrick Byrne and Judd Bagley? Wake up and smell the moohla! The correct answer is his old compadre, boss and treasurer, of course.

"The first impression one gains of a prince and his brains, is from those he surrounds himself with."--Niccoló Machiavelli

If we follow the money trail still further, it is no secret that Amazon.com was an early, big investor in Jimmy and Mike E's baby Wikia. To the tune of over $2 million.

Byrne's company Overstock.com has been trying to give Amazon.com some fair competition, which according to Econ 101 is healthy and good for consumers and everyone all around and in the spirit of a free market besides.

Of course Amazon does not see it this way, and thanks to their kissing Jimmy and Mike E with over 2 million tiny George Washingtons, they don't see it that way either.

And hence neither did Wikidpedia.

The lesson here-Money doesn't only talk, it yells, screams and throws temper tantrums.

Listen to the money!

A fact that was recently reiterated by the appointment of Venture Capitalist and mystery sugardaddy Roger McNamee to the new board of advisors.

Rodger Roger is half the reason (actually about 3 million little reasons) why this year's money beg fest succeeded as opposed to last year's which badly tanked.

Nor will he be lonely on the board as the only Daddy Warbucks, but will be joined by a Mama Warbucks in the form of Neeru Khosla, who just so happens to be the wife of another well endowed VC and big time recent wiki donor Vinod Khosla.

Here I was, silly boy, thinking the advisory board would be elected rather than appointed. But I guess after giving so much you can't really deny them a seat...or two or three. But how long until, for their continued support, they start to nicely hint at asking for more? Say, for instance, seats on the BIG BOARD. Can't really deny them that either, after all they've already sat on the advisory board, so they've done their time. And as long as their checks don't bounce.

Now I'm not saying that Mr. McNamee and Mrs. Khosla aren't necessarily nice people, they are certainly generous. But are they necessarily the right kinds of people to be running a non-profit virtual share-cropping foundation?

Oh well, the board could do, and has certainly done, worse. At least it won't get completely overrun by SueSue and Jimbozo cronies.

The Bittersweet Sound Of Vindication

[Nov. 13th, 2008|05:43 am]

[

mood

sympathetic

]

Amid the catastrophic cacophony of the world's financial industry crashing, there is the tiny tune of vindication for one Patrick Byrne. Mr. Byrne is a remarkable man who has lived more lives in his 46 years than most of us do in a lifetime; He's studied at Dartmouth, Cambridge and Stanford, earning a fridge full of degrees in the process. He's a cancer survivor with a black belt in tae kwon do, who tried his hands and fists at professional boxing and as a Philosophy teacher. In the meantime, he's also rode his bike across the US to raise money and awareness for cancer research. He's been an education reformer and held top management and executive positions in umpteen large companies and corporations. In short, Patrick Byrne is a lot like Forrest Gump, except he is a genius instead of retarded and from Indiana instead of Alabama.

And he is not quite as lucky nor likable to some. Mr. Byrne has long warned about the dangerous and corrupt practice known as "naked short selling". Naked shorting, as it is known to crack dealers on "the street", basically involves people selling stocks they don't yet own to drive down a stock's price so they can cash in later. It is essentially gambling with counterfeit money, or more precisely IOUs (Playing the market with IOUs?! What a great idea!). It is one of the reasons why we are in this current clusterfuck to the poorhouse and over the last few months the practice was first halted, then finally outright banned by the SEC.

As with many early warners; Cassandra, Laocoön, Chicken Little, the Coal Mine Canary and the Radarman at Pearl Harbor, Byrne was largely ignored or mocked. Worse yet, he was often persecuted for his warnings by, among others, the Wallnut Street Journal, and former BusinessLeak reporter Gary Weiss along with Weiss' enablers in the Wikidpedia Cabal.

Now, at last, Cade Metz of The Register has confirmed what Patrick Byrne and his supporters, along with the rest of us non-Kool Aid drinkers, have long suspected- "Mantanmoreland," who for over two years ruled over the wiki articles on naked shorting, Patrick Byrne, and Byrne's current company Overstock.com, with the ruling Cabal's blessing, really was a sockpuppet of Gary Weiss.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/01/wikipedia_and_naked_shorting

Moreover:

A single Wikipedia edit also links the Mantanmoreland account to a PC inside the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). Owned by Wall Street investment banks that may have benefited from naked shorting schemes, the DTCC oversees the delivery of stocks on Wall Street.

Thanks to Mr. Metz we now know who, but that only begs the more important question-WHY?

Weiss' motivation in going after Byrne is simple and obvious-$$$$. Slim Virgin's motive is not as simple nor obvious, but is still fathomable; she has an old grudge against Byrne dating back to their days as students at Cambridge (the world is small, the virtual one smaller still).

But what was Jimmy Wales' motive in allowing Weiss to continue his smears, lies and charade for so long? I know we are not supposed to assume malice where incompetence is the culprit, especially where King James is concerned, but with him sometimes it really is difficult to tell the difference.

One of the questions I intended to ask Jimmy had he called me back in March was-"Can you assure me that no money, promises, threats or bodily fluids were exchanged between yourself and Gary Weiss?"

The only other motivation I can fathom is, like too many of his subjects, he allowed himself to be manipulated by a crooked ex-journalist and a mentally unstable, vindictive woman (certainly not for the first or last time either). That still does not reflect very well on his judgment and leadership ability.

It is certainly not what a man such as Patrick Byrne deserves, which would be an open and sincere apology from the co-founder. I won't hold my breath waiting, though, and I'm sure Patrick isn't either. Jimmy does not do apologies, at least not in any meaningful way. To do so would be to admit he was wrong and he can't allow that. Which is one reason why he keeps making the same mistakes and will continue to do so until enough people in the right places finally get tired enough of him and give him the royal flush.

So I guess, Mr. Byrne will have to content himself with the cold comfort of being right. That along with a great deal of respect which he has earned for making the world a better place and trying to make it a safer, less corrupt one as well.

Cheers to you, Patrick Byrne!

This one's for you:

Replacing Queen Jimmy With President James

2 comments|post comment

[Oct. 14th, 2008|02:49 am]

Jimmy has repeatedly claimed that he is nothing more than a Constitutional Monarch ("Like the Queen of England"). And he certainly seems to be acting more as one of late; Traveling around the world, waving his scepter at the crowds (and in private to the occasional, lucky groupie), all the while managing to avoid doing too much of substance...A nice gig if you can get and keep it.

And a fairly nice arrangement for the projects he supposedly reigns over, as well, since it keeps him from meddling, as much, in the day-to-day operations and exercising his considerable talents for mucking things up.

Unfortunately, this arrangement is not viable in the long term. Eventually, we just know his Jimness is going to do or say something that even "The Wolf" wouldn't be able to clean up. It is no longer a question of whether Jimbo Fails, but when and how hard?

If nothing else. the costs of shuttling him around the globe in the lap of luxury will begin to outweigh the benefits of the PR, press coverage and what ever cash he manages to con. In short, there will come a time when we must dare to consider a post-Jimbeau Wikimedia.

Question the first is; Who will replace Jimmy?
The answer to this is made even more complicated because two of the most frequently whispered names have recently taken themselves off the list: Mademoiselle FloFlo Devouard, my personal favorite, has chosen to step down as WMF Chair and even as a board member (Aurevoir et bonne chance, ma chere! Even her arch foe Danny Wool expressed some sadness at her parting. While Erik "The Mole Man" Moeller, has chosen to become a champion of pedophilia. For fair or foul, this has easily overshadowed his recent fund raising triumph and He'll be lucky if the only thing he loses over it is his place in the line of succession.

That leaves Sue "Spider Hand" Gardener, who has been steadily weaving her web and seems poised to take the throne for a test drive. But she is a Lady Jane-come-lately to the kingdom, and has little to do with the community down in the "trenches". Thus, she is rightly seen as aloof, conniving and looking after numero uno. Besides, she is about REAL power...a figurehead's mantel is not for SueSue, she would never be satisfied as a mere constitutional queen.

What the Wacko Media Foundation really needs is an outsider, and not just any outsider, but a highly talented and experienced one, and I know the perfect candidate, if he is ~~foolish~~ brave enough to take the job-James Burke.

So why do I think Mr. Burke would make such a great replacement for Massah Wales?

*He is an educator extraordinaire, who has devoted most of his life to the pursuit and popularization of knowledge, especially with regards to technology.

*He groks technology better than almost any human on the planet. Not only how it works and the connections between different technologies, but its implications for good and ill.

*He is a true visionary...this is a word which gets bandied about far too casually but James Burke is the real deal. One need look no further than his work to see this. He saw the computer revolution in his signature series Connections. At the end of The Day The Universe Changed he foretold online communities. In After The Warming he was one of the first major media/scientific voices to sound off about global warming, and one of the first to suggest the idea of "Carbon credits" as a possible solution.

*He already runs his own non-profit educational institute, so he has experience with management, delegation and politics.

*His work with the "K-web" (Knowledge Web) further demonstrates his suitability along with the vision needed to take Wikimedia to the next level.

*There are tremendous potential synergies between Mr. Burke's projects and the various Wikimedia ones.

*He is a native English speaker but also a non-American. Thus he is ideally placed to help bridge the growing gap between American Wikimedians and the rest of the world, especially the Euro-Chapters whose influence is on the rise.

*He can give entire lectures without once saying "uhhh" and can even play the guitar while doing so.

*He is a man of maturity and character, and thus is unlikely to squander his speaking fees, trying to live out repressed, adolescent rockstar fantasies.

*Who better to oversee the construction and maintenance of a massive, online encyclopedia, than a man who is a walking encyclopedia, with the amazing ability to point out the connections between everything and anyone.

*He has inspired generations and all ages, including mine, to think about technology and history in new and exciting ways.

*He would be far more likely to govern as a duly elected president than rule as a self-proclaimed monarch.

But of course, before this Dream President can take over, the manipulative, megalomaniac, mental midget, man-ape monarch must vacate his throne of lies. And his Canuk Goth Dolores Umbridge, will very likely have to go as well.

In this year of change, when we are picking the most powerful elected leaders on earth, the choice is yours Wikipedians.
Who would you rather see with the keys to the kingdom; this?

Or this?

If your choice is the latter, then let your fingers do the talking. Start petitions, post to your blogs and mailing lists, write to James Burke to see if he might be interested. Get out the word. Wikimedia can no longer move forward without a head who truly understands and believes in its mission. The communities must demand better than a clueless, RANDroid con man as their self-proclaimed king.

An Open Letter To Durova

[Jul. 16th, 2008|04:36 am]

[

mood

disappointed

]

My Dear Durova,

Since you have chosen to moderate my comments from your blog, I will post them here.

After reading your recent exchange with Mr. Moulton, along with your sanctimonious attempt to blackmail Giano on his talkpage last month, I have come to the sad conclusion that you are like a beautiful, fragrant white orchid, duct-tapped to a Brillo(tm) pad.

Worse yet, you seem to be positioning yourself as the new, improved Kelly Martin with Nutrasweet(tm).

Worse because you actually have some degree of charm and social skills, which Mz. Martin sorely lacks or chooses not to employ in general.

It is a pity that such talent, intellect and charm are wasted trying to rationalize Wikipedia's flawed processes and the flawed personalities who game them. WPIS: beyond the point of peaceful reform. Its shitstem of governance is a termite-ridden structure that must be demolished first, before any better replacement is built upon its ruins.

Even Danny Wool and the aforementioned Ms. Martin see that now. I hope you will eventually reach the same conclusion. Then, perhaps, we can start talking TO rather than AT each other. I look forward to that day when we can enjoy a genuine, open dialog.

Sincerely,

The one who tried long ago to caution you to the hazards of Wiki-poltics, but you failed to heed and allowed yourself to become the Wiki-Witch of The West, instead.

PS: If it is redemption you are seeking, you won't find it sitting on the fence.

Wikipedian Wood

[Jul. 7th, 2008|07:18 pm]

[

mood

amused

]

As opposed to the Norwegian variety:)

Goodbye Geogre

[Jun. 25th, 2008|01:29 am]

[

mood

depressed

]

Another fearless warrior in the battle against bullshit has passed.
I refer here not to this George, who is still going strong even though he has gone into semi-Wiktirement, but to George Carlin, of course. In honor of this champion of humor and truth, I will repost an open letter I posted to him last year when it was still too early for him to be late:

===An Open Letter to Mr. Carlin===

Dear George (If that is your '''real''' name:),

As a longtime fan, admirer and student of yours, I feel the strong need to warn you about becoming involved with this site. It is basically the Infobahn's largest truck stop restroom wall, run by a bunch of insane, manipulative nobodies without any meaningful lives.

Since I know you value truth, honesty and humor and despise hypocrisy, doublespeak and bullshit authority, I have no doubt you will hate it here. Learning, intellect, humor, fame or any form of expertise will get you little regard, on the contrary as you can see, they often garner only hostility and suspicion. All that matters here is how many petty admins and Wiki-zealots you can manipulate into agreeing with you on something. Here this is called ''consensus'', which is neither fact nor truth, so consequently the bullshit piles up higher than an elephant's eye.

Take it from me, I was once a proud, enthusiastic contributor/editor here, now I can barely stand to even read yet alone login to the place. Two things happened that led me to this sad state:

*The place got too fucking big for its own good. This is inevitable anytime you have too many monkeys flinging too much feces in one room. Anytime anything becomes too big or too popular it starts to fall prey to its own success, believe its own hype and ceases to be productive/progressive or fun and collapses under its own ego into conflict and despair. It happened to Rome, to Napoleon, to the British Empire, the Soviet Union...hell even to the fucking Beatles!

*I found out how the '''wiki-brand(tm) sausage''' is made. I learned which parts were the snouts and which were the assholes...and trust me, there are a lot of snouts up a lot of assholes round these parts:).

"So fucking what?!", you say, "you're just another anonymous, overweight, pissed-off internet dork with too much free time!". Fair enough, then perhaps the words of Harlan Ellison, on the subject will better convince you.

Ironically, after I started becoming seriously involved with Wikipedia, I told a dear friend who made many of the same arguments as Ellison (WP=Time sink etc) against this project. But I stubbornly refused to listen, made a foolish wager and now owe that friend a beer. I hope someday too that we can share a beer, George (again I'm assuming good faith, the way these Wiki-crat fucks always insist we wiki-peons do, but never do themselves, that you are in fact '''THE George Carlin'''). By making millions laugh AND think over the generations, you are doing far more good for the world than this smug, smarmy failed experiment in collective learning and social engineering ever shall! Keep thinking and sharing those weird thoughts!

Love, The Disgruntled Wiki-Peon IP Freely.

PS
{{welcome}}
[[User:70.171.22.74|70.171.22.74]] 10:55, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Turns out the Wiki-George Carlin was a faker, but the sentiments expressed above, especially towards our George were, and are, sincere. Not surprising really...George did not give three flying fucks to the wind with a mile-high club membership, about Wikipedia or what it said about him. He had perspective...the big picture and understood instinctively that WP=crap. He didn't even find it sufficiently funny or twisted enough to work into one of his routine rants. Those who take WP too seriously, in both pro and anti camps, should take a cue from him on this, amongst many other subjects.

I never got to have that beer with George Carlin...a beer I would not have traded for 10,000 meetings with teh Jimminess or even a trip to Necker Island.

Game on, sweetheart.

[May. 4th, 2008|12:00 pm]

[

mood

cynical

]

Forgive me, dear fellow conspirators and Wiki-watchers, it was been over a month since my last (public) post here. But sometimes real life is more fun and exciting than grumbling about a vast black hole of nerd text, for which I have little love left.
Suffice it to say my self-declared truce with Mistah Jimmy has long ago ended. So as his much maligned ex put it; Game on, sweetheart.

I'm sure he's as crestfallen over it as I am (I was REALLY looking forward to going to Necker island!).
The sad truth, however, is that any conversation between us would have probably been a year or two too late to do either of us any good anyway.

But that's not about to slow down the unstoppable love machine that is Jimbeau Wales.
If anything all these scandals seem to have only made him more accepted amongst the international techno-illumanati jet set. The invite to Neck(her) (aye)land was only the beginning. He was even asked to co-chair the annual World Economic Forum on the Middle East.

If his ability to bring peace to the Wikipedia community is any indication, we can expect another large scale Arab-Israeli war to break out any day now.

I especially love the quotes above from El Reg:"his expertise in terms of business, knowledge etc. is the important thing here, not necessarily any knowledge of the region - which he may or may not have."

Err I'm guessing not. But maybe, just maybe, a little knowledge of the region wouldn't hurt. It would at least help keep that forum from turning into another exercise in mental masturbation.

And(Aynd?:):"At present the gossip and allegations directed towards Mr. Wales remain just that - gossip and allegation - and as such, the Forum has no comment to make."

So all those allegations from all those sources are just gossip and sour grapes? Not even worth considering, case by case, the possibility that some of them might be true? Amazing...spoken like a true Jimbot (Jimmy musta offered him some kool aide).

It's as if this whole battery of scandals has really been some sort of bizarre, twisted fraternity ritual J-dog has had to endure before being officially admitted to the ranks of the rich and infamous. And through it all our pledge boy managed to maintain the position whilst keeping the cherry firmly planted between his cheeks.

Giano is right; The wicked world as we know it is run by a bunch of decadent, dimwitted, superficial bastards, whom you must spend a small fortune wining and dining in faint hopes of getting some of their bigger fortunes if they deign to open their pocket books. And where any vice or wasteful extravagance can be justified in the name of sweet charity.

Best of all, Whimbo got himself invited to a weekend leadership symposium at an all girls prep school. Where I'm sure he'll inspire some aesthetically gifted young ladies with very bright futures indeed.

But every silver cloud has its black lining...every Deathstar its Womp Rat-sized thermal port.
His non-start-up Wikia continues to flounder while he fiddles.
But he now swears he will go from being Dr Dolittle to Dr Dotoomuch by spending 90% of his time (minus travel, parties, speeches, collecting speaker's fees, attending far flung conferences, parties) on Wikia and only 10% on Wackopedia. He's even gone as far as to move as far as Gotham to prove it.

Smart move Jim lad. But you had better make the best of it this time, for while the shadow lords can forgive vice, financial improprieties and lack of character, one thing they do not forgive is failure.

Now it's time once again to play Good news, bad news!
The good news- late last month the Foundation got a 3 mill 3 year grant, the largest in its history!

The bad news- it wasn't Jimmah getting jiggy with his Jimness with a bunch of elegantly wasted rich wastoids a la the Giano model, which secured this bounty, nay nay. But Erik Moeller, his sometime rival on Olympus Mons, working quietly behind the scenes for sometime what clinched the deal. Even SueSue, the big J's new number one paid cheerleader (and possible cheerleader fantasy enabler), gives due props to lil E. This is bad news for J-dog, because fund raising is his supposed forte. Now Erik has bested him at his own game in a coup de punk. Could a coup d'etat be next?

Stay tuned boppers.

This time, as penance for my neglect, I leave you not with some embeded pop cultural snack that is only marginally connected to the topics, but with a full course meal. Filmmaker IJsbrand van Veelen has made this outstanding docu entitled The Truth According To Wikipedia. At just over 48 minutes, it clocks in longer than my usual embeds, but still shorter than an average podcast and well worth your attention spans. Don't let the sarcastic dork at the start put you off either (Wikipedia does not have a monopoly on such creatures...yet) he's not in the whole thing. Unlike Marsden and her friends at Fox news (and even this blog at times) it actually is quite fair and balanced.

Quote of the moment:

"Jimmy, maybe before you get that kid in Africa a laptop so she can have access to the world's largest collection of Pokemon articles, you should get her a cellphone first, so she can order out for pizza."--Me from Danny Wool's blog.

OTRS Ticket To Ride

[Mar. 31st, 2008|01:38 am]

[

mood

contemplative

]

I'm holding off on making this latest entry public, for now, in order to honor the unilateral, informal truce I have with Jimmy Wales at the moment. Once it has ended, however, I may let it fly:).
Before you moan Oh shit...not more Marsden! and trot off, please read on. This is only marginally about Marsden, it's really about a flawed and potentially out of control institution. Besides, in writing this I had to fight my mild dyslexia and a mind riddled with military acronyms. For you see, instead of OTRS, I kept typing ORTS which stands for "Operational Readiness and Testing System"; A computerized diagnostic tool to aid in the maintenance of the FA-18 Hornet.

( She's got an OTRS Ticket to Ride, and they don't care! )

Waiting For Jimdot Part 3: Nerds In Paradise!

[Mar. 25th, 2008|02:21 am]

[	mood	\|	anxious	]
[	music	\|	XtC, Generals and Majors	]

I have discovered why I've not heard back from Jimmy yet:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/22/business/worldbusiness/22deal.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

But I'll continue to be a good boy and keep our truce for another week.
You're a busy man I understand, so allowances must be made, slack cut.
I'm an open-minded, understanding kinda guy...within reason.

Ms. Marsden, on the other hand, is on that crazy, scorned woman's warpath once again. But that's ok, your loyal force of Jimbots Wiki quickie shut her up then shut her wiki-presence down. Maybe you should invite some of them along with you next time you're invited to Necker Island? Show them some appreciation for all their unpaid devotion.

Then again, they would probably be tedious company...plus, we know they are suckers, afterall they work for free! I, on the other hand, am a lot more fun. I can mix drinks, we can cruise chicks and make fun of Yo Blair. Everyone has a price...mine is a trip to Neck(h)er Island...do this thing for me and you'll never find a more devoted minion. For now, though, I'll settle for just a 5-10 minutes phone chat.

So I dedicate this video to Jimmy's, and possibly my, most generous host Sir Richard Branson. Show it to him and I guarantee you'll get at least chuckle if not a chortle.

TICK...TOCK....TICK...TOCK...

[Mar. 20th, 2008|03:19 am]

[	mood	\|	awake	]
[	music	\|	See Above:)	]

(No that's not a bomb, oh if only, but the sound of the wheels of time slowly draining away our lives).

Still no word back from Mr.Wales.

Jimmy, I'd love to hear from you and consider your side of things. I shall continue to honor my truce with you till then...for now:)

But that doesn't mean I won't go after other targets in the meanwhile.

Even if they are sometimes wrong targets, as in my previous post where I speculated on the current course of this scandal-rama-a-gogo; namely that the next phase would be Gary-gate. Anope, that rabbit hole is far too deep and twisted, there are no shocking public revelations yet, only speculations, and apart from the word Naked (as in short selling) there's nothing sexy about it (nor is there any Rock-N-Roll).

The next big phase tis McNamee-gate! It's got BIG money, we're talking millions here babe not a paltry $5 grand. Plus it's got a real, live, legendary ROCKSTAR! Moreover, it raises the specter of some deep-pocketed, daddy warbucks Venture Capitalist (or VC) coming along to bail out, and eventually buy out, the WMF. We also now know the name of the crackpot who gave $500K to the Whackedout Media Foundation, which Greg Kohs was speculating about last month, don't we Greg?:).

But in the smoke and minutia of these situations, the big picture and little stories alike often get lost or obscured. Here is an excellent Slate article by Chris Wilson, entitled The Wisdom of the Chaperones: Digg, Wikipedia, and the myth of Web 2.0 democracy.

Published less than a week before the gates began to break, it is a must read for anyone interested in these topics (and that means YOU...why else would you be reading this blog?:). The conclusion concisely sums up the message I've been trying to get out since I started this blog back in 08 of 06:

"Digg and Wikipedia would do well to stop pretending they're operated by the many and start thinking of ways to rein in the power of the few."

It is also the message that shadowy band of rebels over at WikiTruth.info have been pushing since they started 2 year ago today.
HAPPY TERRIBLE TWOS WIKITRUTH!
May you stay forever young and truthful and funny!

Typing of teh funny; beware trolls, stalkers and scallywags! There's a new sheriff in town-The Wiki Defender!
http://wikidefender.blogspot.com

And typing of Wiki-defenses, this post has been sponsored by Wikipedia Condoms(tm):The free condoms anyone can edit! If one breaks, you can simply undo it back to a previous version! That hopefully still works...if you catch it in time. Hey, whaddya expect for free?! At least they have a long shelf-life, which is good because of the inactivity of the typical Wikipediot's sex life (SNAP!).

Still waiting for that call, Jimmy.

Update-Gate

[Mar. 14th, 2008|07:37 am]

[

mood

bored

]

Marsden-Gate which begot Danny-Gate has now begot Merkey-Gate:

http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2008-March/039545.html

http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2008-March/039563.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7291382.stm

Could Gary (as in Weiss) Gate be the next to be begotten?

'Wikipedia, the bureaucracy that anyone can edit.'

Meanwhile Back At The ~~Ranch~~ Foundation...
In an earlier post I mentioned some well-sourced rumors regarding the elimination of open and direct board elections by us mere, mortal (l)users. Over on his fine blog, Danny now may have provided the answer as to how us contributors would figure in the new order; The Volunteer Council. It will be appointed at first, then once it clears the way, another useless layer of Wiki-bureaucracy can take hold. It will, of course, have no direct vote on the board, but will doubtless be a token, advisory Koffee Klatch, rather than true watchdog or Tribune of the plebes. The sun is starting to set on the board's amateur hour, this is part of phase 1 or maybe 1.5.

I've yet to hear back from Jimmy Wales. But for now, I will give him a truce until I do.

That is all...dismissed!

A Friendly Chat With His Jimness?

1 comment|post comment

[Mar. 11th, 2008|03:25 am]

[	mood	\|	loved	]
[	music	\|	The Flys, Got You (Where I want You)	]

I was checking me ol G-mail with Liz before bed, and I got the following short, sharp shocker:

from Jimbo Wales <jwales@wikia.com>
to "R.D.H. (Ghost In The Machine)" <r.davros@gmail.com>,
date Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 7:30 PM
subject phone call?
mailed-by wikimedia.org
hide details 7:30 PM (7 hours ago)

Would you be willing to have a phone call with me?

So should I?

My first inclination is; WHY NOT? It should be interesting...let's hear DA MAN out.

Of course, cynical bastard that I am, I know he has some sort of ulterior motive and agenda (don't we all?:).

I'm thinking it's part of the greater charm offensive launched the other day by SueSueSuedio Gardner. So he prolly wants to tell me what a good guy...what a niz guy he be.

The worse case scenario; He's got the pics of me with the nuns, the fish, the slinky, and the personal lubricants.

Or worst still case; Jimbo reveals to me that he's been running WikiTruth.info all along. It really is the WikiWorld's version of Goldstein's Book, and he proceeds to get all O'Brien on my Winston Smith ass.

NIGHTMARE SCENARIO; He wants to know what I'm wearing and if I'm busy this evening...

Regardless, opportunities such as this don't often occur...so again, why not:)

( My reply and his )

Jimmy Founded What?

[Mar. 7th, 2008|01:12 pm]

In the midst of my discussion with Giano, on all the Non-story over on Jimbeau's talkpage, I saw this interesting tidbit, which was promptly removed by the Jimbots, of course:

All you who believe that Jimmy Wales founded Wikipedia, please [http://web.archive.org/web/20030414014355/http://www.nupedia.com/pipermail/nupedia-l/2001-January/000676.html read this letter]. It clearly shows that not only did Wales not originate the idea of using a Wiki for an encyclopedia, he actually thought it wasn't a good idea initially. But he can take credit for one thing he ''did'' found; '''the Cabal''', its origins lie in [http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikipedia-l/2001-October/000584.html this e-document]. That is the simple truth, not trolling. Perhaps it constitutes ''original research'', but it is not in article space.

So there you have it, he did not come up with the idea for a free, wiki-based encyclopedia anyone can edit. But he did concieve of a shadowy mysterious elite group to do his bidding and control it, all in the holy name of the Cult of The Bullgod.

Remember; it is not necessarily the victors who end up writing the history...it is the survivors.

QoD:
"I find (it) tiring to see how you are constantly trying to rewrite the past, Get a grip!"--FloFlo to Jimbobo

"They Love Dirty Laundry!"

[Mar. 6th, 2008|01:37 pm]

[

mood

tired

]

So what's news? Lessee, Clinton won all but Vermont, McCain won all including the nomination. D&D creator, elder nerd god and memeber of Al Gore's Vice-Presidential Action Rangers team, Gary Gygax, failed his final saving throw...he will be +20 missed.

But, of course, that's not what you are here to see is it? You want moar Marsden-gate!
Not really anything new, per-se to compete with what has so far transpired. The story has been busy rapidly working its way through the international mainsteam media daisy chain.

( Let's see what's in the hamper! )

It is somewhat heartening that the discussion seems to be turning away from He said, she said and Dirty Laundry and towards the real issues here of conflicted interests and financial improprieties. But this would not be happening now if it were not for the sex. It never fails to draw em in...bees unto sweet honey...they come for the sex but stay for the COItus.
You tell em, Lisa Marie!

The Wrath Of Rachel!

[Mar. 3rd, 2008|09:41 am]

[	mood	\|	sympathetic	]
[	music	\|	The Soothing Sound Of Vindication	]

The eagerly anticipated retaliation from Rachel Marsden has come swiftly, brutally and in a form only the mind of a woman scorned could have devised- She put Jim(ex)beau's clothes up for auction on Ebay!

http://valleywag.com/362772/wikipedia-guys-ex+girlfriend-auctions-his-clothes-on-ebay

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3475722.ece

(Oh those crazy eyes...those smirky lips...pictures are indeed priceless).

The king was, literally, half undressed (Right Greg;).

Daaaamn grrrl! Didn't see that one coming!
But what most of us, who are not drunk on the Wikibrand Fool Aid, did see coming were more revelations from Ms. Marsden in the form of steamy, incriminating IM transcripts...and she delivers those too, prefaced with a scathing parting message to the Ex-beau.
http://valleywag.com/362814/the-goodbye-email-from-jimmy-waless-girlfriend

Let us review some of the excerpts:

"I only have one thing to say to you: You are the sleazebag I always suspected you were, and should have listened more carefully to my gut instincts -- and to my friends."

We know how you feel there, honey!

"You are an absolute creep, and it was a colossal mistake on my part to have gotten involved with you."

Creep...creep...now where have I heard that word used before, other than in Radiohead's classic power lament? Sorry, please go on grrrrl!

"And, incidentally, your comments, contained in your classy "dumping" statement on Wikipedia, denying your conflict of interest with respect to my Wikipedia bio, are proven to be yet another one of your lies by this particular online discussion of ours. But then again, what else is new."

She then goes on to lay on the IM-bec pentameter to back that statement up.

jimbo.wales: right so the way it is told now, hang on a second
let's actually do this right now because the last thing I want to do is take a break from fucking your brains out all night to work on your wikipedia entry :)

What a romantic soul...with such a lust for knowledge and love of truth. No wonder she fell before his lucky charms. Oh, right, but Himbo says no one really cares about his lust life, soooo

( Here's the really damning part )

Unca Jimbo, owner of the world's largest collection of trivia, is clearly guilty of COItus (Damn you WP Reviewer Lunatics for beating me to the PUNchline on that one!;)

The proverbial ball is now in your court, Wikipedians. The man at your helm is now shown to the entire world for what he truly is; a corrupt, incompetent, lying, hypocritical, egomanical playboy. Until he is gone, or his powers neutered, Wikipedia will remain, basically as what Ms. Marsden described it to her native, Canadian press:

It's pretty ridiculous. I view it as a giant graffiti board for people with axes to grind — or for guys named Jimbo Wales who want to dump their girlfriends.

What was to be a beacon and gift of knowledge for the entire world, has been turned into a monument to one RANDroid's vanity...a giant game so he can play Cyber-Jesus and rockstar.

If Rachel Marsden has helped to expose this, then she has, regardless of her other faults, knowingly or otherwise, done the world a service. For this I owe her, at least, a song.

It MUST be something Alanis...You Oughta Know is the obvious choice...too obvious. So maybe her cover of My Humps instead?

Jimbeau Geste Says YES, he did 'er ehh.

2 comments|post comment

[Mar. 2nd, 2008|04:44 am]

[

mood

Scandalous

]

In a surprisingly (for him) fast and frank confession, the Fearless Leader and Sole Flounder admitted he did...sorta.

"Over the last few days, a few gossip websites have decided that my personal life is somehow of interest to people and, against my wishes, are publicizing details about a brief relationship I had with Rachel Marsden. While, typically, this would not warrant a response, because my role with Wikipedia is being dragged into it, I felt the need to set the record straight on a couple of issues.

First, while I find it hard to imagine that anyone really cares about my sex life, the facts are: I am separated from my wife. I considered myself single at the time of my one meeting with Rachel Marsden on February 9th, 2008. I am no longer involved with Rachel Marsden. "

And because history has a way of mysteriously disappearing in Wikiland:

http://www.webcitation.org/5W0cTT1BM

But he assures us he's a big, single boy now, he diddled Mz Marsden on his own dime, no animals were harmed and it had absolutely zero effect whatsoever on the outcome of the Marsden Arbcom case (The hook up occurred long after that) nor on the edits to any articles related to her since then and besides they are history now so go away!

"I care deeply about the integrity of Wikipedia, and take very seriously my responsibilities as a Member of the Board and as a member of the Wikipedia community. I would never knowingly do anything to compromise that trust."

But Jimmy, you just admitted you DID.

The Wag Rag Mag got it right:
http://valleywag.com/362730/wikipedia-creator-jimmy-wales-dumps-girlfriend-on-wikipedia

The Jimbots and Wikipediots got it ever so wrong (yet again).

True to his word, Danny, cried havoc and let slip the sluts of war. (Dontcha just love the scene where Darth Vader dumps Palpatine into the chasm?!)

Say what we will about Mr. Wool, and indeed we have, but dishonesty and indiscretion are not amongst his flaws. He is much more inclined to remain silent rather than repeat a blatant lie.

Mistah Wales', kinda, confession puts even more iron into Danny's words. I seriously doubt he or Mike Godwin will be threatening to sue Danny anytime soon (Mike, do yourself a big favor and bail out NOW ere it's too late!).

The first question, the biggest question, has now been answered...but many, many new ones have been opened.
Foremost in my mind is; why would he hit on this? When he could have tapped into that instead?

The immoral moral:
If you are going to get all scandalous with someone, at least pick someone worth getting scandalous over! Someone with whom you could seriously hook up and not just ding-dong-ditch. And especially not if that someone you ditch, is a wrathful, mentally unstable, if not bat-shit insane harpy (Have we learned nothing from Fatal Attraction?!).

And if you MUST ditch someone, don't do it via the interwebs...at least have the decency to tell them, if not in person then over the phone.
Granted, Marsden is no Aria, but she's not a Killer Kung-Fu Wolf Bitch either (but almost).

Jimbeau, you may think you are a player, but you, sir, are a CAD. I don't expect you to understand the difference, because you are not a gentleman. Once upon a time in our fair South, such words could have led to a duel of honor. But you have no honor and Mizz Marsden's is not worth defending (Aria's is however...has she really moved to Belgrade...;).

We have scandal, folks...and this time one of Jimmy's ego-sized proportions.

The King is Half Undressed

[Mar. 1st, 2008|05:52 am]

[	mood	\|	amused	]
[	music	\|	See Above:)	]

In the previous post here, I accused King Jimbeau of starting some drama. But in my naive, ignorant innocence, I had nooo idea just how much he is capable of starting! I keep misunderestimating the guy, and unfortunately not in good ways.

Right in time for the first anniversary of Essjay-gate, comes a tale which, if true, could make that look like the Brian Peppers controversy by comparison.

Behold!

http://valleywag.com/362374/wikipedia-founders-fling-with-fox-news-fox

http://valleywag.com/362564/transcripts-of-wikipedia-founders-sex-chats

http://valleywag.com/362511/how-wikipedia-got-jimmy-wales-laid

http://valleywag.com/362540/wiki-quickie-has-jimmy-wales-moving-to-new-york

http://valleywag.com/362631/four-hot-pics-of-wikipedia-guys-girlfriend

Predictably, the Cultish Chorus has risen up its voice in Prem Rawat Wales' defense, basically arguing that the Valleywag is a tabloid rag mag (though they did get the scoop on the horror that is Karaoke Jimbo ) much as they did against The Register.
Maybe his Jimness should have stayed in Florida...our press is a lot slower than those Westies.

Of course everything El Reg has run about the decadent Empire of Wales, it has backed up and turned out to be El Truth. Moreover, over on his blog, Danny, the fallen Prince of Wales, has made an interesting little post on the matter, which implies there may be more Jimbeau bimbo eruptions waiting in the wings.

The A#1 Royal drama llama, turned Hedda Hopper of Wikiland, Kelly Martin, has Oh Danny Boy's back (Ex-Cabalistas stick together no matter the weather!) and claims to have yet more salacious info from an anon source.

Of the two I consider Woolly Bully to be the more reliable...sorry Kell, but interesting as that post is, if it were an article I'd have to {{fact}} tag it.

To this gossip and theresay may be added some circumstantial evidence:
Mizz Marsden's article (which has apparently been recreated in a less unflattering form, after she, her alleged lover and his Supreme tribunal worked so hard to have the original deleted) has been full protected (Jimmy, I hope if this is true you used full protection too). This constitutes the usual circling of the wagons by the Jimbots, which usually means injuns on the horizon, Beauckaroos!

So did our Marathon Man do her ("Is it safe?")?
Your friend and humble narrator thinks there's an 80% chance it is true, along with a 100% chance of a shitstorm of biblical proportions. Why 80? Mainly because, to echo Danny's sentiments, I find it hard to believe that he would risk so much of what reputation he has for a fling with the Ann Coulter of the Great White North.

If it does turn out to be true, perhaps the Wikimedia Foundation's new slogan should be; Saving the world one crazy, conservative Canadian floozy at a time!

But until then, although in the past I have not hesitated to point out when the Emperor has no clothes, this time I will only declare that the King is half undressed. Stay tuned and enjoy the video.

2 comments|post comment

The War On Drama

[Feb. 26th, 2008|07:46 am]

[	mood	\|	cynical	]
[	music	\|	Radiohead, My Iron Lung	]

Wikipedia has gone and declared war on yet another a new enemy. First there were those wacky vandals , then the terrible Trolls, Sockpuppets, the Fair Use Doctrine and, of course, Badsites. Wikiland's new enemy? (you guessed it) Drama (the title kinda gave it away, didn't it?).

Drama in this case, means forcefully presenting and/or asserting a point, fact or view Wikiland doesn't like. It is, of course, a vague definition so it can be applied to a wide variety of cases. But it is basically aimed at those who are not vandals, trolls or socks. It is a more colorful, metaphoric way of declaring someone in violation of WP:POINT but who actually has a valid point which deserves to be addressed but Wikiland refuses to. If you can't come up with good evidence or a good argument, then come up with a label or accusation. When the tired, old labels and policies don't apply, and new ones have yet to be devised, accuse them of starting Drama (Like OMG drama! "Nono drama! You don't want no drama!":)

Of course, this ignores the fact that some of the biggest Drama queens of Wikiland reside, or once did, at the court of King James. We are talking such royal drama llamas as the likes of David ("Let's block an entire state and tell anyone who disagrees to fuck off") Gerard, Sooper Sekret Policeman Durova, Tony ( "Boy Toy") Sidaway, Slim ("Darling of Wikipedia Review") Virgin. And let's not forget, however much we may like to, perhaps the biggest, if not the fairest, of them all; Kelly ("Scott free!") Martin, whose futile attempts to regain power over and the respect of the community are starting to eclipse the dramas which lost her respect and power in the first place.

The King himself is not above starting some drama, even if he is well above being accused of such. For example when he blanked and protected his talkpage for 2 days last month, in support of a Chinese dissident blogger who was beaten to death.

Here is my fav part, with which I have taken some small dramatic license:

"I humbly ask the ~~Chinese~~ Wikipedia government to consider taking steps to ensure that freedom of speech for the people of ~~China~~ Wikipedia is more protected. Stop censoring the ~~Internet~~ Wikipedia. Change laws to give strong protections to people who are speaking the truth. Do it for the interests of ~~China~~ Wikipedia. Do it because it is right."

How noble! What a bastard I am to accuse him of drama in this case. But consider that he also happened to be jet setting to Dubai and back during that time...how convenient. Also if anyone who is not James or within his charmed circle, pulled the same stunt, they would be accused of WP:POINT or Drama-mongering faster than you can say Falun Gong.

So the God king is once more shown to be a hypocrite and above the laws of his own kingdom...and until that changes, he lacks the moral standing to lecture anyone on freedom of speech. However, this is not news. Also while this was going on, his Star Chamber was in the process of censoring and censuring one of Wikipedia's finest editors and now most prominent dissidents; Giano. Gerard and Sidaway, whose actions brought on the situation and made it much worse got away Scott free again.

Giano's real crime was starting or starring in too many dramas.
But drama-mongering is not against apelaw, yet, so they found another vague crime that is; Civility, which they define in this case as anything judged by an administrator to be uncivil, personal attacks, or (my favorite) assumptions of bad faith. Rather than meekly accept this bullshit, in a dramatic move, he decides to leave and join the WP Review.
Who can blame him...well ArbCom obviously and now any block-happy admin looking for Cabal creds can, but I sure as hell do not!

All this reminds me of part of another drama, specifically, The Bard's "Julius Caesar" Act IV scene 1.
(As my new friend, Mr. Moulton, likes to say; "The Process of Enlightenment Works In Mysterious Plays.":)
Which I have, once more, taken some small dramatic licence with thus-

( Apologies to Stratford's Immortal Bard )

I now have the sad pleasure to welcome my friend and colleague, G, to the growing list of dramatis personae in the formally loyal opposition.

The small dramas on a titanic pile of nerd text and geek cultural artifact do indeed pale compared to those of real life. But where petty injustices are allowed to stand, larger ones usually follow. Makes me wonder whether, eventually, some future blogger here in our enlightened, freedom-loving West will suffer the same fate as Wei Wenhua for criticising Wikipedia or one of its successors, after their name gets added to some sooper sekret list of black sentence and proscription. But sorry if I'm being too dramatic.

Now FloFlo, Lay off the (K)Fool Aid!

[Jan. 28th, 2008|05:14 am]

[

mood

awake

]

In the past, I've made little secret of my liking for Wikimedia Chair Madame Florence "Anthere" Devouard or FloFlo as she is affectionately known or sometimes even Greg Kohs :).

Unlike the rest of the board's bigwigs, both FloFlo's heart and her head seem to be in the right places much of the time...besides not being a convicted felon is also a plus.

However (knew this was coming didnt ya:), in her comments made in an interview here, when asked:

swissinfo: Google is launching its own online encyclopedia. Does that worry you?

Elle répond:

F.D.: Other than a blog and two screen shots showing a hypothetical version, no-one has seen anything about it. There is so much that we don't know that it is difficult to make any sort of judgement. I would imagine the idea sprang from the fertile imagination of two or three people who got carried away after a few drinks. Maybe it will come to something, and maybe it won't. Who can tell?

If it turns out to be an encyclopedia which, like us, believes in free speech and free software at no cost, that will be a victory for us. We shall have encouraged other projects to develop along the principles that we believe in.

Excusez-moi, Madame, but this is, frankly, the sort of thing I expect King James or one of his Death Eaters to spout. It is most unbecoming coming from you, especially considering what you posted to the Foundation mailing list only last month.

And I quote:

"I do not share the same optimism than Jimbo with regards to Knol. I think Knol is probably our biggest threat since the creation of Wikipedia. I really mean the biggest. Maybe not so much the project itself, but the competition it will create, the PR consequences, the financial tsunami, the confusion in people minds (free as in free speech or as in free of charge). Many parties are trying to influence us, to buy us, and conflicts of interest are becoming the rule rather than the exception. There are power struggles on the path."

Now THAT, to me, is the real FloFlo...idealistic, optimistic but ultimately pragmatic.

Remember ma cher chair, less than 10% of an iceberg is visible on the surface:)

But the real reason we are seeing so little of Knol is that, unlike some, Google doesn't like to release anything into the wild until they are good and damn sure it is combat ready. Now granted, this is a strange practice of theirs, but it seems to have worked out for them so far.

I shall refrain from making snarky quips about a Maginot Line Mentality at Wikimedia, since that would place me only slightly above those who labeled FloFlo a Surrender Monkey for her, original, pragmatic statement quotated above. I wanted to defend her at that time...now though, I'm glad I refrained.

And on the subject of the Foundation;
Certain members of the Junior Wikitruthers Squad have been claiming, for some weeks now, to have sooper sekret 411 into big chchchanges, supposedly going down soon on the board. Well word on da skreet according to my sooper sekret squad of Huggy Bears is that it will be the end of board elections as we know them (and don't that make you feel fine?).

Hence forth Wikipeons in good standing will no longer be allowed to run for, nor vote for Trustees. In short, all us "amateurs" will be disenfranchised. What shitstem will replace open and direct elections and how will the contributors' rights and interests be represented (if at all) no one is really saying or sure. Good thing this wasn't the case back in the day, or it is doubtful we would have FloFlo sitting majestically at the big table proclaiming Qu'ils boive de la Kool Aide.