User blog:A5637/A5's thoughts on the Wiki

Hey everyone.

Before I start, I'd like to just state I know this won't be the most popular, well-thought out, well-received blog ever. But it's my honest thoughts, and that's what blogs are for, right?

I'd also like to preface this by acknowledging that most of what I'm saying is not based in hard logic. And that's ok. It's my feelings on the current state of the wiki, in the form that it has had, it has now, and the changes that I see going on in it.

So, here goes nothing.

I joined the LMBW for the same reason that many did - to be able to interact with those I met on the MBs without the pesky restrictions of the forums. From my first day, I found that. Klint and AL were some of the first people I talked to on chat, and soon I got to know others, like Alemas, BCG, Rio, Guac, and many, many others.

Honestly, I didn't really care about the wiki aspect. I still really don't. Sure, I've edited my fair share, and I still patrol edits nearly daily, but the simple act of putting in data on a subject that I (and many others, I think) don't find particularly important in the grand scheme of the things never really appealled to me. Of course, others find it important or fun. And that's okay. The effort that some people have put into this Wiki is staggering, and I can appreciate that. If they feel like they're making a difference, or at least having a little bit of fun, there are worse things to do on the internet then the updating of a children's wiki.

Over the years I've been here, I've seen the wiki go through a number of phases. When I started there was a big anti-LMB anti-mod kick. I remember a couple of strongly worded blogs by Alemas against the moderators xD. Of course, anything we said here really meant nothing, but it was nice to feel like we were standing up to the system or at least teaming up with people of the same mindset.

What else? Spreaker was a thing for a summer. That was one thing I really enjoyed doing. It gave me the opportunity to put a little more of my actual self out via my voice, as well as hear the voices of others. I remember doing some colabs with RCC and ARC, which were entertaining at times. Again, I knew whatever I did or others did was mostly insignificant, but it was fun to do and be a part of.

Boardscraft was fun. Combining my favourite game at the time with the people I knew was a fun experience. Props to Spy on that - I'm sad it ended even though I know it was a pain to try to run. The Brickimedia "discussion" that popped up a couple of times wasn't so fun. The idea was good in some aspects, of course, but I really don't think the fragmentation of the community that it caused was worth the potential upsides, even though most of everything has been smoothed over now.

The CLFW was a thing for a bit, which I found cool at times. The small Bible study I led there for a couple of months was a good thing at times, even though it got a bit chaotic. Of course, that place is pretty much derelict now, except when the mods on chat here tell people to take a particulary contentious discussion there.

Why am I saying all this? Partly, because I'm nostalgic. I've had some genuinely good times as a result of this wiki. Somehow, I've formed some good friendships. Of course, I know many of them are temporary and limited by the fact that this is the internet but that in no way diminshes that they exist or have existed. Additionally, I think it shows that my focus has been, throughout my entire stay here, on the people on the other end of the wire. The internet isn't real life, the "wiki" aspects aren't really important in the grand scheme of thing, but the people do actually exist.

So what does this all have to do with now? I feel like slowly, that aspect is being lost. Maybe it's just because I'm getting older, maybe I'm just a stick-in-the-mud with delusions about the past and no focus on what a wiki is "supposed to be." Well, if I am, OK. But I feel like the way things have been going, with the amount of bureacratic changes that have been flying around "for the good of the wiki," maybe they've helped it to become a better wiki, but not a better community. And the community is what I appreciate.

I enjoyed the days of coming on chat, and just chatting with people I knew. Actual discussions about actual things going on on the internet and in our lives. Nowadays, it seems like it's mostly just spamming of random phrases, emotes, and a general ruckus. I enjoyed blogs about life, meaningful interactions, and the leadership structure. Yes, even a leadership with leaders who had more power than the average user. Being a bureaucrat, admin, mod, patroller, or whatever meant nothing in real life, of course, but being selected showed that people appreciated and trusted you, which was nicer than any of the actual powers themselves.

So what am I trying to say? I don't really even know. I just feel like the time when this place was at its best was when it was in a happy balance. Not too serious, with a strong emphasis on bureacracy or "being a real wiki," but also not crazy with spam in chat, random blogs, and surface-only discussion and interaction.

The internet is a crazy place. It contains a lot of stuff that doesn't really matter, and what does matter is a judgement couple for every person. But I think the one thing that should matter universally, on or off the internet, is people.

I'm all for equality, freedom, whatever. I'm all for the sharing of information too. But honestly, if you want to advocate for those things, there are far better places than this wiki. I'd rather have a terrible wiki with simple rules but a good community and nice people than an amazing, factual wiki where people are miserable, fighting, or just messing around without a care in the world.

I don't want to argue pedantics. I just want a good environment. This place is by far not the most important place on the Internet. Furthermore, it's not (and should very much not be) a thing of major importance in everyone's real life. So, for the small amount that it's worth, I wish we could focus on the important things. People. Communication. While even they not be very important in your life, it's better then silly arguing about the grammatical structure of articles barely anyone reads or the finer points of a meme you just created.

I may edit this as needed if I feel like I can word something better, but these are the thoughts I have so far.