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Michaelos comments on The Problem With Rational Wiki - Less Wrong Discussion

20 [deleted] 26 October 2012 11:31AM

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Comment author: [deleted] 26 October 2012 03:55:19PM *  13 points [-]

What else remains? What other plausible function does it serve?

Entertainment?

And this is intentional. I even found this in their community standards section:

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki:Community_Standards Point of view

RationalWiki does not use Wikipedia's well-known "Neutral Point of View". We have our own version: SPOV. SPOV means two things: Snarky point of view — This is the meaning most people refer to. It means that, to keep our articles from being dry and boring, we spice it up with humor, sarcasm, skepticism, satire, and wit.

So they do announce they are trying to be funny.

Its problem is that it is an ammunition depot to aid in winning debates.

It feels more like combustibles for a fireworks display.

Comment author: [deleted] 26 October 2012 05:33:39PM 4 points [-]

It feels more like combustibles for a fireworks display.

That is a good alternative interpretation. But I don't think most of its readers treat it that way.

Comment author: [deleted] 27 October 2012 01:12:21AM 3 points [-]

I do. In certain places I couldn't pretend to believe they're trying to be serious even if I tried.

Comment author: ewang 27 October 2012 04:26:08AM 3 points [-]

When I come across a pseudoscience I haven't seen before, I usually go to Google first to check its position with regard to reality.

Then I go to its RationalWiki article for entertainment. This is essential if I don't want to spend the rest of the day fuming at how many people "actually believe in that stuff".