Talk:RationalWiki/Archive1

This is an archive page, last updated 4 March 2023. Please do not make edits to this page.

Archives for this talk page:

<2>, <3>, <4>, <5>, <6>, <7>

, (new)(back)

I sent an invite to the young whippersnapper who wandled himself here.--PalMD^{-yada yada} 21:34, 21 June 2007 (CDT)

Good for you. His IP block ought to over by now. human^{be in} 21:35, 21 June 2007 (CDT)

I can't believe i said "young whippersnapper".--PalMD^{-yada yada} 21:38, 21 June 2007 (CDT)

I can't believe I let you get away with it. Let's block each other! human^{be in} 21:46, 21 June 2007 (CDT)

I, um, well, er, I'm not a, er, sysop. I can't block my own toilet.--PalMD^{-yada yada} 21:47, 21 June 2007 (CDT)

• I am now a vandal. Bohdan 21:48, 21 June 2007 (CDT)

Baal, Vishnu and Jeezus! How could you???--PalMD^{-yada yada} 21:50, 21 June 2007 (CDT)

• The worst part is, he likes being blocked! human^{be in} 21:56, 21 June 2007 (CDT)

history

I do think there should be a history section. All I know so far is what day it got started. YB ^indeed! 20:00, 16 August 2007 (CDT)

And then there was light ;) Thank you. human^{be in} 23:27, 16 August 2007 (CDT)

WEIRD! I was reading up on CP on WP and read that a doctor named Peter Lipson started it. I can't find anything about it here, though! (Here as in the site, not this article.) So I thought I'd head over to the talk page, only to find that I had asked this question about 4 months earlier. Ha! Weird. YB ^indeed! 21:05, 8 December 2007 (EST)

Metapedia....

It has occurred to me, just now, that perhaps Rationalwiki should expand to cover, perhaps, this 'wiki' too?

Just a thought...--TheThinkingMan 21:43, 2 October 2007 (EDT)

Touch dirt & ye shall be soiled! Susan^{talk to me} 21:48, 2 October 2007 (EDT)

Maybe an article, yes. As far a sickening-read hobby for people who can't get enough CP... Ugh. Anyway, we wouldn't have to "expand" to "cover" it. Just write an article. Ironically, they have no user named "Hitler was a sensitive man" yet... human^{be in} 21:53, 2 October 2007 (EDT)

What I mean is, we already have watchdog pages for CP (more then one) perhaps it would be a good idea to include one for this site as well.--TheThinkingMan 22:03, 2 October 2007 (EDT)

We know where it is, idiot. Quit spamming the link to that racist trash around. human^{be in} 22:28, 2 October 2007 (EDT)

Sure, TTM, why not? Oh, perhaps because it would mean someone would actually have to go there over and over again. I don't have the stomach for it, do you? human^{be in} 22:30, 2 October 2007 (EDT)

Perhaps not. O_O Maybe we should send an email to one of the anti-racism sites around :/ I feel we need to do SOMETHING though. --TheThinkingMan 23:00, 2 October 2007 (EDT)

Of course - write Metapedia.... human^{be in} 23:26, 2 October 2007 (EDT)

New direction

What to do? I think we need a new raison d'etre, to reanimate the group. We've certainly got a great core of users, a slim & streamlined wiki (thanks to project whitewash and Susan's categorizing), and above all, time and brains on our hands (I really should wash those).

So what to do with them? I'd like to do something about the Creation Museum, or CreationWiki, or something like that. I still want to do the Visitor's Guide but I'm too damn busy lately. Other ideas?-αmεσ (mission accomplished!) 23:22, 2 October 2007 (EDT)

What happened to our old raisondetra? You know, the debunking irrationality thing? human^{be in} 23:28, 2 October 2007 (EDT)

I think we need a new target, or we'll be relatively aimless and just revert to targeting CP-αmεσ (mission accomplished!) 23:30, 2 October 2007 (EDT)

Perhaps it's worth saying

That due to the inherently open nature RationalWiki (hell, even the Main Page is unprotected), and it's small size relative to sites like Wikipedia or Uncyclopedia, vandalism will be encountered more often than on those sites. All users should be encouraged to revert vandalism, on a bigger scale. --Ζωροάστρης 14:25, 11 November 2007 (EST)

nice screenname. Künstlerin (talk) 06:41, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

This website is Propaganda

Theres no use denying it like some child. 98.17.12.20 13:11, 18 December 2007 (EST)

It's not a "web sty", it's a "web shite". Git yer terminaulogy richt! human 15:22, 18 December 2007 (EST)

What exactly do we, um... propagandize? ...propagate? In any case, I can't imagine us doing a very good job of it... Uchiha^KATON! 15:25, 18 December 2007 (EST)

Liberal beliefs. 98.17.12.20 17:00, 18 December 2007 (EST)

I think we're "propaganda" in the sense that we have a viewpoint. But I don't think that's something to be ashamed of. We set out to have a viewpoint, didn't we?-αmεσ (mission accomplished!) 15:28, 18 December 2007 (EST)

Rather feel that, apart from the odd right wing single issue wazzock, we're propagandising to the converted. (Is there any conection between a propaGANDER and a CANARD? Susan^{purrrrr ...} 15:32, 18 December 2007 (EST)

It's no more "propoganda" than Conservapedia. So, what's a "Website", then? Somewhere for internet pigs to live? We only do and have goats here (with the occassional Hiver). Spica 15:47, 18 December 2007 (EST)

I think of it less as propaganda than as evangelism.--PalMD^{-If it looks like a donut, eat it} 16:10, 18 December 2007 (EST)

You don't know what a website is? LAMO! 98.17.12.20 16:59, 18 December 2007 (EST)

RW symbol

Suggest it be known as 'Bracket Brain' (unless octopedal representation).

Is it out of its skull? ^{— Unsigned, by: 82.44.143.26 / talk / contribs}

The founder/organiser of the RW conspiracy (a combination of [[Mornington Crescent]] and [[Lord Voldemart]]). ^{— Unsigned, by: 212.85.6.26 / talk / contribs}

This view on RW

[1] I like it. αδελφός ΓυζζγςατΡοτατο (talk/stalk) 20:28, 1 August 2015 (UTC)

Are we biased?

I understand that every author is biased in some regard but good authors try to suppress personal positions in favor of objective facts. Obviously Rationawiki has a strong position on the refutation of crankery and pseudo/anti-intellectualism which is part of the mission statement, but based on most of the articles here Rationalwiki seems to be rather left leaning. Whilst there is certainly nothing wrong with this doesn't this detract from our position as a site for those that rationally analyse issues and debunk idiocy? Existential Toad (talk)

The snarky response is that "reality has a well-known liberal bias". Herr FüzzyCätPötätö (talk/stalk) 04:04, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

Also known as confirmation bias. 1)I am very rational. 2)This is what I believe. 3) If you believe also it, you can be considered rational too.Ariel31459 (talk) 23:29, 21 July 2016 (UTC)

(EC) Since being right-wing generally consists of being nostalgic for the past and supporting economically dumb policies, not really. 141.134.75.236 (talk) 04:05, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

I am based in favor of logic. Bias is not always a bad thing. Molesters could call things anti-molester bias and thieves pro-property ownership bias, etc. All perspective I guess. Clyde Winters The Black Celt (Caledonia) (talk) 04:08, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

Rationalwiki self admits to being heavily biased, and as Fuzzy said, the snarky answer is that in general, reality is left-wing biased. --"Paravant" ^{Talk & Contribs} 04:49, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

Actually, the common phrase is "reality has a Liberal bias," this was adopted much later by lonely left-wingers.シノラ (talk) 00:45, 22 July 2016 (UTC)

Yea, I feel a lot of times Bias is used as a snarl world and part of a rant instead of actually pointing out perceived issues. Clyde Winters, Commanding Centurion of The Battle of Watling Street, Humbler of the Tribes of Britannia (talk) 04:59, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

I see, so the general attitude is that if you can prove it works better, it isn't biased? Existential Toad (talk)

So if you kill everyone who disagrees with you, except the engineers of course, everything should work better. How is that unbiased?シノラ (talk) 03:21, 22 July 2016 (UTC)

It can also depend on definitions of Bias. By the dictionary definition, virtually anybody with any perspective can call stuff that doesn't conform to their view bias. It's not a good way to explain your points or why the opposition is wrong. Clyde Winters The Tribal Chieftan Of the Black Celts from the Battle of Teutoburg Forest (talk) 05:06, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

Very true. So Rationalwiki is not worried about bias as long as any points are backed up by logic and evidence? Existential Toad (talk)

I suppose you mean not worried? If so, generally yes. I mean it doesn't have anything close to Wikipedia's NPOV. Clyde Winters The Tribal Chieftan Of the Black Celts from the Battle of Teutoburg Forest (talk) 06:13, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

Fixed, yes I meant not worried. Existential Toad (talk)

Rational Wiki is not an encyclopedia and is by no means neutral. It (at least tries to) takes a very rational position- it just happens as previously stated that left-leaning positions happen to make more sense/be more rational. Clyde Winters The Tribal Chieftan Of the Black Celts from the Battle of Teutoburg Forest (talk) 06:25, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

Can confirm that RationalWiki has a liberal bias here, in particular there's a distinct lack of discussion surrounding leftist ideas and movements beyond "they killed lots of people". Withoutaname (talk) 14:28, 24 May 2016 (UTC)

Guys, RTFM

You're welcome! :3 Reverend Black Percy (talk) 23:37, 21 July 2016 (UTC)

There aren't any Checkusers here in RW?

Are there? Dandtiks69 (talk) 19:23, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

No. Don't know what Techs can do though. Scream!! (talk) 19:36, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

RationalWiki:Techs gives a very brief, and in my view unsatisfactory, explanation. I am also aware that they are able to assign at least all the user rights groups we mortals deal with, which is why a not-too-ancient discussion of assigning tech rights to a person who resigned his mop amidst coop/controversy generated some blowback. WalkerWalkerWalker 19:47, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

For peace of mind: CheckUser is a MediaWiki extension. We do not have it installed. WalkerWalkerWalker 19:47, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

To remove just a slight tad of that peace of mind: technically, people with access to the server(s) (namely, Tmtoulouse and David Gerard) could root around and obtain the same information; however, such is standard for pretty much any website (since your IP address kinda comes on any packets you send/get sent), and they furthermore agree not to disclose users' IP addresses &c. except pursuant to appropriate legal process. So, is that way too much info to answer your question? WalkerWalkerWalker 20:00, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

Checkuser isn't installed here. There's considerable old-school objection to it because it was a favourite tool of Conservapedia. Theoretically Trent or I could grovel through the logs to work out what IP a given user was coming in from, but (a) that would be a wrong thing to do without something on the level of a legal necessity (b) too much like work. And if I wanted to work I'd get a job - David Gerard (talk) 20:53, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

Alright, makes sense considering some of the ugliness that happened both in RationalWiki and Conservapedia, only difference is that in Conservapedia insiders use it in bad-faith. It does relieve me, thank you. Dandtiks69 (talk) 21:43, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

Honestly, RationalWiki has never had a need for the checkuser extension anyways. Other than for formal votes on RationalWiki, I can't think of a possible application, other than to be a prick, for it to be used. RationalWiki, mind you, doesn't outright ban sockpuppets and duplicate accounts, so there's no utility for it. Gooniepunk (talk) 06:12, 18 August 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, lots of people run multiple accounts and change names at whim, but there's the strong social expectation not to use it to fake consensus, so it works OK ... so far - David Gerard (talk) 09:35, 18 August 2015 (UTC)

Now that you mention it, doesn't it also complicate real harassment prevention here? Dandtiks69 (talk) 21:38, 18 August 2015 (UTC)

There have been rare occasions where it would have be handy to say definitively whether or not two accounts were coming from the same IP, but nowhere near frequently enough or serious enough for it to be worth the effort/break from tradition. Queex_{chthonic murmurings} 11:49, 22 January 2016 (UTC)

How does one create a page?

Warning: Do not use createbox. It is outdated. Use inputbox instead. ClickerClock (talk) 02:50, 24 June 2017 (UTC)

Dandtiks69 (talk) 23:00, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

Seek & ye shall find. Scream!! (talk) 23:08, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

(EC) You can use search and click the red link that'll show up if there's no page yet, you can type a red link into a page you're editing and use preview and then click that red link, you can edit the url to go directly to the page you want to create and then start editing, or you can use this:

<createbox></createbox>

Glad to help. ;) 142.124.55.236 (talk) 23:10, 17 August 42015 AQD (UTC)

Thank you both. Dandtiks69 (talk) 23:15, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

Or you could have decent formatting and use this box instead:

<createbox />

Herr FüzzyCätPötätö (talk/stalk) 23:41, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

Pfft! 142.124.55.236 (talk) 23:45, 17 August 42015 AQD (UTC)

I already used the one above. Dandtiks69 (talk) 00:15, 18 August 2015 (UTC)

Interface

How does one update the RW interface like in Wikipedia for every visitor to experience a better RW? And if so, where can one propose this? Dandtiks69♪♫ (talk) 17:30, 8 September 2015 (UTC)

Special:Allmessages gives you every goddamn interface message. Not everyone has the power to edit this (I think it's crats or above) because you can fuck things right up. If you have improvement ideas and can't make the change, I'd suggest floating your proposals in the saloon bar. I'd expect anything obviously sensible would go over fine, the defaults are pretty generic and dull - David Gerard (talk) 10:23, 9 September 2015 (UTC)

Essays

It's kind of a stupid question, but can user essays here get the same level of reputability as one written say in the New York Times? Dandtiks69♪♫ (talk) 03:39, 11 September 2015 (UTC)

RationalWiki#So, do any "real" news outlets cite RationalWiki?

Feels like unnecessary self-aggrandizement. Mʀ. Wʜɪsᴋᴇʀs, Esϙᴜɪʀᴇ (talk/stalk) 12:36, 23 August 2016 (UTC)

Stay with me now... but I'd like to shorten that list to the major players, and/or sort it differently (per country of origin), and most importantly expand the text on how we're not a fringe page ourselves and that we welcome journalists, etc. Fuzzy, "self-aggrandizement"? We're actually making a difference, you mean! The "about RW" page is a landing page for everyone new at the site, plus journalists and others looking to see how citeable we are in the eyes of others. That whole page needs to be less shit than it's been for too long. We should be able to work out something great and balanced and less of an eye-sore. You know I just want the best for the site and our community. All the best, Skip Reverend Black Percy (talk) 12:53, 23 August 2016 (UTC)

Oh, and let me point out that the headline is far from set in stone. Had to type something. All the best, Reverend Black Percy (talk) 13:11, 23 August 2016 (UTC)

That's fair. It just feels long as if we're flaunting that "no srsly guys we're srs man". The FCP Foundation (talk/stalk) 13:38, 23 August 2016 (UTC)

But, dude, bro, we're so serious. ikanreed ^{You probably didn't deserve that} 13:51, 23 August 2016 (UTC)

Totally, dudemeisters. Reverend Black Percy (talk) 13:53, 23 August 2016 (UTC)

Criticism

Have any actual scientists bothered to write anything about Rationalwiki? 94.118.150.47 (talk) 06:11, 6 October 2016 (UTC)

It doesn't look like anyone references Rationalwiki.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=rationalwiki&tbm=nws 94.118.150.47 (talk) 06:17, 6 October 2016 (UTC)

I found this review

Should we add this to the article? 80.229.99.64 (talk) 06:29, 6 October 2016 (UTC)

Why would scientists write about RationalWiki? What research could they possibly be doing that would require it?-- Forerunner (talk) 06:38, 6 October 2016 (UTC)

It's at least theoretically possible that this would be an accurate and useful source of information. There are scholarly reviews of WP, mostly dismissing it as garbage. Seems no actual academics even bother to mention this website. They should though, because unsuspecting memebers of the public may place some credibility on the laughable nonsense written here. 94.118.190.81 (talk) 06:54, 6 October 2016 (UTC)

Thank you for your concern for gullible web users like myself. I will make sure to visit the website you cited! 2.123.159.173 (talk) 19:18, 18 March 2017 (UTC)

Sorry to rain on your parade

Lamestream media likes us. And so does a number of stupid scholars. Reverend Black Percy (talk) 07:19, 6 October 2016 (UTC)

I wonder what pet theory of this BoN we attacked. I bet it's something racist what with their citing ED. Hey, don't forget to look us up on their "how to troll" section next time. I'm sure we'll all fall for it. ikanreed ^{You probably didn't deserve that} 14:57, 6 October 2016 (UTC)

The BoN is Mikemikev, his first edit was on racialism (talk) spamming the same nonsense. I'm not sure why he's linking to ED as a source of information when he has his own ED article: https://encyclopediadramatica.se/Mikemikev Gorgonite (talk) 15:48, 6 October 2016 (UTC)

Do you not have anything better to do? It seems like your life centers on this one tiny flake of internet drama, and I cannot begin to fathom why it's so important to you. ikanreed ^{You probably didn't deserve that} 15:52, 6 October 2016 (UTC)

Public stats

According to this (easycounter), rationalwiki.org has Google PR 5 and its top keyword is "korea wiki"; this website also offers a comparison with conservapedia. There are some reviews here (mywot) (currently 66, overall positive). --Cmonk (talk) 01:03, 1 April 2017 (UTC)

Suggestion

Given various regular discussions by proponents of particular viewpoints, should there be 'What Rationalwiki is' and 'What Rationalwiki is not' articles? (Or one combined article if more appropriate)

What Rationalwiki is

• The 'ideology' of RW is that 'arguments, discussions, and theses' should have a certain minimum level of correctness, understanding of the concepts, verifiableness and external support.

What Rationalwiki is not

• It is not the other place.
• Anything relevant from [2]
• It accepts more robust behaviour and opinionated discussions than the other place (but contributors should still be courteous/not abusive).

Anyone care to develop (or at least have fun in the process)? Anna Livia (talk) 11:01, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

I think RationalWiki:Community Standards covers a lot of what you're talking about. Spud (talk) 06:23, 2 November 2017 (UTC)

Needs Citation

"RationalWiki (RW) is a community working together to explore and provide information about a range of topics centered around science, skepticism, and critical thinking."

"Rational" and "Scientific" on this site is used as double-speak. It's really just gate-keeping through ostrazisation and exclusion. It's not scientifically motivated by curiosity but politically motivated by power.

"Concepts which have proved useful for ordering things easily assume so great an authority over us, that we forget their terrestrial origin and accept them as unalterable facts. They then become labeled as 'conceptual necessities,' etc. The road of scientific progress is frequently blocked for long periods by such errors." - Albert Einstine

A paradigm-shift is going to occur in physics soon. If you snide fuckers don't start being honest with yourselves and the world you live in. You're going to encounter some bad karma. Save yourselves some grace and stop giving into ideological power-plays. You can do that, you have courage right?

"Politically motivated by power," this wiki has a slight left leaning bias in favor of socdems, it used to be hardcore liberal but thankfully those days are (mostly) over, this site is less shitty than it used to be, as for said "paradigm shift," can you elaborate on what that is? — Oxyaena ^Harass 12:26, 1 February 2020 (UTC)

Can this site get rid of the pretense objectivity?

At least that way it would have some integrity, rather than parading left-wing ideology around as objective truth. ^{— Unsigned, by: 104.238.169.90 / talk / contribs}

On talk pages, please sign your comments using four tildes (~~~~) or by clicking on the sign button: on the toolbar above the edit panel. (You can indent successive talk page comments using one more colon (:) for each line.) Thank you. Christopher (talk) 13:50, 18 March 2017 (UTC)

RationalWiki:What is a RationalWiki article?. Of course, if you think our "left-wing ideology" is bad, you're always free to challenge it. --It's-a me, LeftyGreenMario! 15:50, 18 March 2017 (UTC)

@104.238.169.90 Here's a comment with absolutely no pretense to objectivity whatsoever: you're not just a turkey, but an utter dingus as well, for missing this. Pip-pip cheerio! Reverend Black Percy (talk) 18:18, 18 March 2017 (UTC)

Just wanna say you have an outright lie on this page, you say that mediabiasfactcheck has you ranked the same as wikipedia, when in actuality the website has you rated as having a moderate liberal bias and if you look at community votes extreme left is in the lead by 40 votes. Either remove the section where you say that or edit it to reflect the truth please. Aoau (talk) 16:36, 28 September 2018 (UTC)

@Aoau What parts do you consider lies? How do they qualify as lies? How exactly does an opinion poll count as truth? Please reply so that we can try to resolve this matter. ☭Comrade GC☭^{Ministry of Praise} 16:49, 28 September 2018 (UTC)

Im just a left leaning personality that fell on your alt-right page. Those comments from your integrity in 2017 : spot on. You have a strong left leaning bias on this website, it is pretty obviou and authoritarian in my honest opinion. If back in 2017 it wasn't obvious how detrimental it was for the quality of the website and its usefullness, now it is. It require a remedy for neutralisation, otherwise the name of the website stands as a joke, as it should read rationalisation wiki. ^{— Unsigned, by: 96.22.26.155 / talk}

"But I thought this was supposed to be RATIONALWiki!" Drink!. --It's-a me, LeftyGreenMario! 20:45, 13 June 2019 (UTC)

Im just a left leaning personality" And then in the very next post. "american academia probably shares this kind of opinion, knowing that a bunch of radical feminists are present day managing large scale nuclear arsenals, it is chilling to see the country with this military apparatus and this intelligence apparatus turn that quickly that far to the left" As I like to say, if you're going to lie, either do it well or not at all. You suck at lying. ☭Comrade GC☭^{Ministry of Praise} 20:52, 13 June 2019 (UTC)

What happened?

I haven't been here in years. When did this place get infested with SJWs and faggots? ^{— Unsigned, by: 68.35.67.233 / talk / contribs}

I believe the SJW-faggot infestation started in 2008. Herr FüzzyCätPötätö (talk/stalk) 16:46, 2 November 2017 (UTC)

Change your name to SJWiki

Because that's what you actually are. Your wiki has nothing to do with rationality. ^{— Unsigned, by: 72.193.159.54 / talk / contribs}

I think you're in the wrong place. --It's-a me, LeftyGreenMario! 02:19, 30 September 2018 (UTC)

Gonna pretend to engage you. What is rationality? Conceptually, without respect to the particular things you're currently wrong and angry about what do you think defines rationality? ikanreed ^{🐐Bleat at me} 02:23, 30 September 2018 (UTC)