RationalWiki:How I found RationalWiki/2021

2021

December 2021

• First learned of RW in 2014 when I was playing Mage the Ascension and found your page 'Luminiferous aether'. Occasionally used this site later on for discovering various pseudoscience /occult stuff for use of roleplaying a crank scientist. Started to wiki-walk through the more 'serious' stuff and while enjoying/finding informative a lot of the content, got slowly more pissed at it's Americentrism. So I joined, reasoning a) if I didn't do it, who would? and b) if I'm gonna waste time online I might as well do it on a group project. KarmaPolice (talk) 21:44, 28 May 2024 (UTC)
• search.brave.com for gab.comb (from a meme). Link there pointed to Gab. Billstclair (talk) 21:04, 31 December 2021 (UTC)
• I saw a German video about the "Besa Mafia" in the darknet (https://youtu.be/NlNK75eOmks) and was interested to find out what RationalWiki is about. ^{— Unsigned, by: Lix / talk / contribs}
• Through probability. 2600:387:B:3:0:0:0:85 (talk)

November 2021

• I remember nothing about how I stumbled on this site, but I was aware of it long before registering. IdiosyncraticLawyer (talk) 16:03, 30 January 2022 (UTC)
• While bored on one school day, I got bored and decided to search stuff up. Ended up discovering this site while looking up ScoMo stuff to see what crap he had done recently, and in turn discovered a lot more about Australian politics than what I had known before as well as a bunch of articles that actually put logic and science first. TL;DR: good stuff here, everyone here is cool and i hope the site keeps going strong. Rgamesonline (talk) 01:15, 25 November 2021 (UTC)
• With the rise of hardcore conservative and alt-right pipeline that was in favour of all social media platforms' algorithm, it is really difficult to understand which perspective and point-of-view that contains a reliable statement of facts. Before I was even observing deeper into mostly US political divide (circa a year before 2020 election), I had a perceived personal view about all USA citizen which is parallel to what Hollywood movie industry showed, like individual freedom and open mindedness. And now I found that it was a straight utopian white-washing Californian idealistic-oriented [LOL dramatic]. The quite detailed list of leading figures of right-wing internet politicians/pundits this website wrote really help me navigate the surface of internet because I find it so triggering there was an apparent violent extremism threads in their every single media they posted online. And that leads me to creating my account :) Greetings, my fellow Rationalwikians. About the first experience I had with RationalWiki, I remember that I was looking about conspiracy theories and run into this Pizzagate article. Before the sole article of Jeffrey Eipstein is live, I always think there would be a continuation with the latter and surprise, surprise. Then the rest is history. I found out about young Earth creationism, Qur'anic scientific errors, and articles about country and its political climate. Neil Cooper (talk) 02:56, 22 November 2021 (UTC)

October 2021

• Hello everyone! I got into an argument with an especially dense relative who was claiming that the Earth was flat. Rationalwiki helped me out here by providing enough arguments to melt his brain and bring him back to normalcy. Since then I've read a lot of articles and learned a lot from RationalWiki. Hope to see many more golden years here! DrRoboJesus (talk) 18:05, 7 November 2021 (UTC)
• I found rationalwiki after reading its respective article on Encyclopedia Dramatica A while back. TheNFLGuy (talk) 20:54, 28 October 2021 (UTC)
• (Malay only, you can translate it if you're Malay) Sebagai permulaan, Almighty Goat pernah berfirman, Veritas liberabit vos yang bermaksud kebenaran membuatkan aku bebas. Kenapa aku betul-betul minat dengan RationalWiki? Kebetulan aku ni nak macam korang, berfikiran kritis, terbuka dan berkecimpung dalam pemikiran rational. Sumpah, aku betul-betul nak tahu apa yang kurang dekat diri aku. Asbabnya adalah dulu aku ini seorang Muslim yang praktikal, tahu solat, puasa, kenduri dan macam-macam lagi, dan aku ini giat mencari kebenaran, kononnya... korang tahulah apa yang aku maksudkan, conspiracy theory kan... Jadi lepas aku keluar dari "landasan Islam", terdetik pula jiwa aku nak mencari jalan bagaimana nak hidup secara rasional dan tidak diganggu oleh segerombolan pemikir-pemikir yang agak konservatif dan serba dogmatik disebabkan terlalu banyak fallacy yang mereka tak sedari. Jadi, sampai hari ini saya masih belajar menerusi wiki ni dan Alhamdulillah! Ada sedikit peningkatan dimana saya boleh menjadi seorang pemuda atheist dan gay yang hidup dalam nilai rasional yang tinggi. Aku bangga dengan diriku! Goat help none of us. Itu saja yang aku luahkan, Assalamualaikum! Ahmet Najmović (talk) 13:57, 14 October 2021 (UTC)
• I don’t remember where I first heard of this site; it was back in the heyday of internet skepticism, so it could’ve been anywhere. This was one of my favourite sites as a kid, I was interested in science and all the wild things people believe in. I rediscovered it by looking up a manosphere glossary so I could understand the horror stories people were sharing from r/TheRedPill. From there I browsed a couple other threads and stumbled onto pyrrhonism. Quarantine boredom/hubris hit then, and I decided to write a whole article to add to it. Hopefully that goes alright and I’m not too much of a nuisance. I’m not sure how active I’ll be if I stick around; I tend to hibernate for a long time between bursts of activity on websites. Kudos to all of you for keeping this place alive and expanding it over the yearsHeythere (talk) 22:11, 7 October 2021 (UTC)
• I looked up "thejuicemedia," which is a hilarious satire group, and I found the article about it. I looked more into what this site was, and I decided that I might wanna be involved. --ICan'tThinkOfAUsername (talk) 19:27, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

September 2021

• Been lurking here since I was like 12 years old, actually. Had this account for a few years. I decided to drop in during a good ol' fashioned "howling into the void" session. I probably landed on the LessWrong stuff. nfd (talk) 03:19, 15 September 2021 (UTC)
• I've been aware of the wiki for at least a year, and I've been lurking for a few months. No idea how I first found the wiki, though. Redscreen^Chatter 02:42, 9 September 2021 (UTC)
• I've been lurking for about a year. I found the glossary of logical fallacies and fell down the hole of interesting articles. armed_roomba 18:23, 23 September 2021 (UTC)

August 2021

• Been to this wiki a few times before, registered to edit the entry on the "Appeal to Nature" fallacy. Enjoying the content. Wish I could post to the "debates" without it calling me "anonymous editor," though. Kahnwiley (talk) 07:38, 8 September 2021 (UTC)
• I have been lurking for maybe two years. I don’t really remember how I found RW, but am fairly certain it was while searching about Ancient Aliens, since my wife likes to watch my blood boil when she finds various shows about them. Probliknaut (talk) 23:59, 26 August 2021 (UTC)
• Was watching a Prof Dave video on Kent Hovind and wanted to research more about this man and RW popped up in my search feed. BeardOfZeus (talk) 23:57, 26 August 2021 (UTC)

July 2021

• first found it on discord 2y ago, now revisiting thanks to ED 84.232.178.96 (talk) 10:41, 18 July 2021 (UTC)
• Found this after searching for "amogus original comic". Yeah. ^{— Unsigned, by: 208.102.156.229 / talk}
• I can't even remember. It's been ten plus years (and my reckoning is bad because I still think I'm seven years of age) and my best assumptions are that RW came up during some or other online discussion with a skeptic or atheist. I've been a lurker on and off since then, but recently found myself thinking of the immaculate snark in pages like Protochronism more and more and decided I'd finally take the plunge. Kntai (talk) 08:37, 24 July 2021 (UTC)
• During around early 2020 I searched "Breadtube" and found the (now defunct) RationalWiki article about it. I'm very thankful to have found this wiki because I had a lot to learn myself in regards to pseudoscience (for example, I thought artificial food dyes were bad for you; I learned that they are totally fine on this wiki) and I greatly appreciate what you've built here so much.~April ^Chat? 00:59, 31 July 2021 (UTC)

June 2021

• I found this through a comment on one of Professor Stick's videos. I appreciate the work you guys do. TheOneAndOnlyCirrusMan (talk) 03:33, 19 June 2021 (UTC)

May 2021

• Found this in a rabbit hole sent from r/antifastonetoss on Reddit. His article was my landing point for this absolute gold mine of 7000+ pages.I believe that RationalWiki’s main goal for all of us is to debunk and document the full range of crank ideas, to explore the modern world’s beautiful complexities, and to spread as much liberal and Atheist bias as possible. XxAlphaHexagonxX(Communications) 22:44, 25 May 2021(UTC)
• Was debunking creatards and Flattards. I am constantly debunking these guys and so went to look up some of what these guys are saying and found this site. Lavalizard101 (talk) 16:12, 22 May 2021 (UTC)
• Have used it as a resource for a while, but the first article that brought me here was probably linked from Twitter, about Stefan Molyneux. Made an account to contribute on some of my interest areas (food woo and state/non-state violence) Stinkypete (talk) 18:57, 24 May 2021 (UTC)

April 2021

• I was basically wandering, looking for things discussing the not-so-great things Autism Speak's done back in April, and RationalWiki caught my attention. Then I clicked around on a few random articles, and realized they were almost all things that interested me, so I decided there was no harm in joining. (Side note: I wrote this in May, but my account was made in April) ThatOneGoblin (talk) 1:04, 3 May 2021 (UTC)

• I was trying to explain to a friend the reason why Peter Brock and his Holden Dealer Team lost the support of General Motors Holden was because of his energy polarizer. When researching this in Wikipedia I came across the term automotive woo which I had not heard of before and that led me to RationalWiki! Bigbrick1969 (talk) 03:53, 28 April 2021 (UTC)

• I learned of this website 3 years ago when I was searching conspirary theories for entertainment and found this site. I joined because I enjoy this site and want to be a member. -- Daemonspudguy (talk) 12:22, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

• Several months ago I found the article about Bill Wiese (I don't remember how or why), noticed the strangeness of this little website called RationalWiki, and then forgot about it for a month or two. I found the article again, and then looked up a few other things, and soon enough I was hooked. I go on this website practically every day, often while falling down various rabbit holes and learning a few things from time to time. I decided to make an account partly because of how often I come to the site and partly to make edits to a few pages in particular, such as the death penalty article. TheJakeHolmesVersion (talk) 19:28, 14 April 2021 (UTC)

• I found out about Conservapedia and RationalWiki at about the same time. As a Christian, Canadian and Liberal Party supporter, I personally like neither CP nor RW, but I copy my non-controversial edits on Wikipedia (the wiki I edit the most) to both websites. I consult both websites to see the opinions of people on both ends of the spectrum in the US. Félix An (talk) 17:12, 9 May 2021 (UTC)

March 2021

• JJPMaster informed me on Uncyclopedia. Gale5050 (talk) 16:49, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
• I learned of RationalWiki roughly a decade ago – don't remember exactly when – when Illogicopedia users active here linked to it there. Now, I've joined mainly for a different reason, a more recent interest and concern with cults and related matters (mind viruses and how they work). I'm not a materialist, but I don't see an inclination towards mysticism as a reason to support BS (mysticism in itself is categorically distinct from dogma, deception, pseudoscience, and other things which may destructively use and abuse mysticism). Rational inquiry and a dose of skepticism are needed the most when human tendencies are the most likely to result in tangled-up mental activity and results thereof. --ApooftGnegiol (talk) 08:06, 23 March 2021 (UTC)

January 2021

• Found an article here about GamerGate. Exaskliri (talk) 07:36, 29 March 2021 (UTC)
• I liked the atmosphere, and the satire. thought i'd like to contribute to the wiki* Kenobisen (talk)
• Like it for quite some time, decided to register after some edits as an IP. A bit behind Wikipedia in editing convenience and tools (I am an editor there), but still quite good. Meow (talk) 16:53, 24 January 2021 (UTC)
• Was browsing aritcles about Last Thursdayism and thought the category names were comedic, and found myself looking around some more. Decided to finally sign up! Moria^. 04:45, 4 January 2021 (UTC)
• I re-discovered RationalWiki while reading Wikipedia's article describing "hat collecting" (w:Wikipedia:Hat collecting), and then re-re-discovered it when I discovered Sievert 81's actions on Wikipedia, which led to me becoming quite angry, and then officially moving to RationalWiki. JJP...MASTER!_{[talk to] JJP... master?} 19:43, 11 January 2021 (UTC)
• I discovered RationalWiki when I created a Wikidata property for this site. I really like it. --Rapunzel ★ ♥ 05:37, 21 January 2021 (UTC)
• Quite a while ago (2 years?). I discovered this site soon after discovering Conservapedia while reading Wikipedia. I signed up to make little edits here and there, and to counter more vandals. CommanderOzEvolved (talk) (contribs) 12:39, 29 January 2021 (UTC)
• I discovered the wiki around 2017 by accident while browsing the net as I usually do, so basically I had known the wiki for several years and made a few anonymous edits, but following the day someone made an article about Michael Coombs on my own wiki pointing out the fact that he relentlessly vandalizes RationalWiki and harasses scientists on Twitter, I got curious about that nutcase and started lurking around here to gather information relating to or involving Michael Coombs and the other trolls who come here frequently to cause havoc such as David Morris. Later on, I noticed there were more and more vandals/sockpuppets popping up, so I took notes on them and added them into a new article specifically for them. Eventually, I decided to create an account to help the wiki since I got more and more interested in RW itself rather than the trolls who vandalize it on the daily-basis. MarioSuperstar77 (talk) 12:57, 29 January 2021 (UTC)