I'm so vain, I probably think this wikipedia's about me
It started out innocently enough - in the process of looking up information about my hometown on wikipedia, I found a couple of factual errors and made corrections, and then started adding information about a couple of the nearby historical sites. My parents have served on the board of the local preservation society, you see, and in their spare time they collect and sell old Montana postcards and photos, so I've had some background in this sort of thing. (Truthfully, I think that's why I ended up majoring in history.)
Pandora's box has been opened, I'm afraid. I've now been looking up all sorts of things I know a little bit about and correcting spelling and grammar (wikipedians apparently suffer from widespread commaphobia). I've long been a collector of arcane facts, and I have an editor's soul, so it's a great diversion for me.
And then I joked to some friends that it would be funny if I had my own Wikipedia entry. And then my friend Ray took the bait. Almost immediately, it was nominated for deletion. So other friends jumped on the chance to write a more factual, detailed entry (I couldn't resist jumping in and fixing a couple of things, which the article history will, embarassingly, demonstrate), and now I am fully wikified.
I suspect it will probably be down by the end of the day, and I won't be heartbroken...I realize that it IS a little bit conceited to have even encouraged it in the first place, and honestly, I do feel a little sheepish. And so I will go gentle into that good night, because like I said in my previous entry, aside from found a countercultural movement and co-curate a reading series, I haven't actually done a whole lot to deserve my own biography, and I freely admit this.
But know this, Wikipedia cops - someday you'll have to include me, because someday I intend to do something important and lasting.
Right now, though, I have to go send out some reports.
Pandora's box has been opened, I'm afraid. I've now been looking up all sorts of things I know a little bit about and correcting spelling and grammar (wikipedians apparently suffer from widespread commaphobia). I've long been a collector of arcane facts, and I have an editor's soul, so it's a great diversion for me.
And then I joked to some friends that it would be funny if I had my own Wikipedia entry. And then my friend Ray took the bait. Almost immediately, it was nominated for deletion. So other friends jumped on the chance to write a more factual, detailed entry (I couldn't resist jumping in and fixing a couple of things, which the article history will, embarassingly, demonstrate), and now I am fully wikified.
I suspect it will probably be down by the end of the day, and I won't be heartbroken...I realize that it IS a little bit conceited to have even encouraged it in the first place, and honestly, I do feel a little sheepish. And so I will go gentle into that good night, because like I said in my previous entry, aside from found a countercultural movement and co-curate a reading series, I haven't actually done a whole lot to deserve my own biography, and I freely admit this.
But know this, Wikipedia cops - someday you'll have to include me, because someday I intend to do something important and lasting.
Right now, though, I have to go send out some reports.
1 Comments:
Wow! After reading that, I feel unworthy!
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