Template:RationalWiki: Difference between revisions

The wiki's stated goals are:<ref name=RW-WhatIs>{{RW|RationalWiki:What is a RationalWiki article?|RationalWiki: What is a RationalWiki article}}; ''RationalWiki.org''; accessed 2022-12-09.</ref>

RW was founded in march of 2007, when Trent M Toulouse posted a message onto the Wikipedia talk-page of Colin L R, which initiated the creation of the website. The website served as a staging-area for leftist influence upon Conservapedia by its now-organized leftist edittors. However, the conservapedians eventually discovered RW, and in turn, banned all of the members thereof from Conservapedia. In turn, Colin L R wiped the RW server and re-started the wiki on may 22nd 2007.

 

Their edits on Conservapedia had consisted mostly of debating on [[talk page]]s, attempting to counteract what they perceived to be overwhelming anti-scientific and [[:Category:Wikis with a strong viewpoint|far-right]] political biases.  Although the site was called RationalWiki to highlight the apparent pro-scientific [[:Category:Earth|worldview]] of the [[founder]]s, the content was largely weighted to the perceived lunacy of events at Conservapedia.  As of January 2014, voting was ongoing concerning whether to expand RationalWiki's mission.  It appeared unlikely that RationalWiki was going to explicitly embrace the idea of becoming a general encyclopaedia.<ref>{{RW|Forum:Expanding RW's mission#Less talking, more voting!|Forum: Expanding RW's mission – Less talking, more voting!}}; ''RationalWiki.org''; accessed 2022-12-09.</ref>

While [[Conservapedia]] continues to be a major source of traffic to RationalWiki (mainly, their {{RW|Conservapedia:What is going on at CP?|What is going on at Conservapedia?}} page), RationalWiki have branched out into many areas of skepticism. Many articles focus on unfounded [[:Category:Medical|medical]] claims, pseudo-science, and Biblical literalism.  Despite a seemingly [[:Category:Atheism|pro-atheist]], [[:Category:Religion|anti-religious]] stance, some [[editor]]s are practicing Christians (e.g. Bryan Metz / Jazzman831), [[:Category:Judaism|Judaists]], [[:Category:Islam|Muslims]], pagans, or pantheists (e.g. Proxima Centauri); tending towards the more liberal aspects of their religion rather than fundamentalism.

The site works to refute a range of [[:Category:Faith|faith]]-based ideas, as well as superstitions. They have critical material on [[:Category:Scientology|Scientology]], [[:Category:Christianity|Christianity]], [[:Category:Creationism|Creationism]], [[:Category:Astrology|Astrology]], 'New Age' philosophy, and many others. It also comments critically on other Christian creationist wikis, like the relatively unnotable, if it weren't for their editors joining up to argue with the founder, [[A Storehouse of Knowledge]] (see {{RW|RationalWiki: A Storehouse of Knowledge}}).

The website has an idiosyncratic sense of [[:Category:Humor|humour]], which includes widespread intentional misspellings and other peculiar phrases. There are many 'inside jokes', particularly in the material relating to [[Conservapedia]], and the writing often has the tone of a close-knit social group. Some dialog takes place through log summaries for ultra-short-term (or even zero-duration) [[block]]s.<ref name=RW-BlockLog/>

RationalWiki has a set of [[Wiki community|community]] standards to which it sometimes / somewhat adheres. For example, it states "Talk pages should ''never'' be deleted", but in actual practice, [[talk page]]s deemed to consist of [[troll]]ing sometimes are deleted. [[:Category:Policy|Policies]] are few, and readily disregarded. RationalWiki does not aspire to be a general purpose [[:Category:Encyclopedia|encyclopedia]] like [[:Category:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]]; therefore, pages deemed to be [[Off-topic|off-mission]] are deleted.  Such decisions are made through a mobocratic process.

 

[[RationalWikian]]s are against making edits that contradict the leftism memeplex, and instead favor having talk-page discussions with dissenting opinions. When a person makes a factually-corrective edit that contradicts the leftism memeplex, the RW establishment reverts the edit and then tries to coerce the correcter onto the article's talk-page, so as to maintain the article in its spurious state, because people rarely look at the talk-pages.

Former [[Conservapedia]] sysop and [[A Storehouse of Knowledge]] founder [[Philip J. Rayment]] harshly criticized RationalWiki as; "[a] place of filthy and blasphemous language, replete with name-calling, smearing, innuendo, hypocrisy, and other undesirable attributes".<ref>[[ask:User talk:Philip J. Rayment/Archive 2#Invitation|User talk:Philip J. Rayment/Archive 2#Invitation]];{{DeadEL}} ''aStorehouseofKnowledge.info''; [[A Storehouse of Knowledge]]; accessed 2018-08-01.</ref> RationalWiki is often criticized as intolerant toward minority opinions. [[Encyclopedia Dramatica]] argues; "RationalWiki doesn't seem to realize that science is dynamic, and established theories may be rejected in the future."<ref>[[ed:RationalWiki#How to Trolling RationalWiki|RationalWiki - How to Trolling RationalWiki]];{{DeadEL}} ''EncyclopediaDramatica.rs''; [[Encyclopedia Dramatica]]; accessed 2018-08-01.</ref>

Many of the people who are critical of RationalWiki refer to the website as "RatWiki" or "IrrationalWiki". One of the more famous essays on this topic, linked by hundreds of pages and probably more by broken external links to the defunct [[RationalWikiWiki]] page, is "I thought this was supposed to be RATIONALWiki".<ref>{{RW|Essay: I thought this was supposed to be RATIONALWiki}}; ''RationalWiki.org''; accessed 2022-12-09.</ref> One of the more thorough critiques of RationalWiki's claims to rationality was [[Maratrean]]'s "Is RationalWiki really rational?"<ref>{{RW|Essay talk: Is RationalWiki really rational?}}; ''RationalWiki.org''; accessed 2018-08-01.</ref>  Customarily, one is entitled or encouraged or required to imbibe whenever someone complains that RationalWiki users' thinking or behavior is irrational, and that this is contrary to the ideals implied by the site's name.

Among the wikis that have articles positively or negatively critiquing RationalWiki are [[ChildWiki]],<ref>[[Archive.org:20140328075632/http://ChildWiki.net/wiki/RationalWiki|RationalWiki – from ChildWiki, the children's liberation encyclopedia]]; ''ChildWiki.net'', via [[Archive.org]]; archived 2014-03-28.</ref> [[Encyclopedia Dramatica]],<ref>[[ed:RationalWiki|RationalWiki]];{{DeadEL}} ''EncyclopediaDramatica.rs''; [[Encyclopedia Dramatica]]; accessed 2018-08-01.</ref> [[Liberapedia]],<ref>[https://Liberapedia.Fandom.com/wiki/RationalWiki RationalWiki]; ''Liberapedia.Fandom.com''; [[Liberapedia]]; accessed 2022-12-09.</ref> [[Libertapedia]],<ref>[[Archive.org:20130115093810/http://Libertapedia.org/wiki/RationalWiki|RationalWiki]]; ''Libertapedia.org'', via [[Archive.org]]; archived 2013-01-15.</ref> [[PolyWiki]],<ref>[[Archive.org:20140127055443/http://PolyWiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki|RationalWiki – from PolyWiki, the global storehouse of information about polyamory]]; ''PolyWiki.org'', via [[Archive.org]]; archived 2014-01-27.</ref> [[SuicideWiki]],<ref>[http://archive.is/0WtR8 RationalWiki – from SuicideWiki, the global repository of suicide reasons, methods and miscellany]<!--http://SuicideWiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki-->; ''SuicideWiki.org'', via [[archive.is]]; archived 2014-03-04.</ref> and [[TV Tropes]].<ref>[https://TVTropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Website/RationalWiki Rational Wiki]; ''TVTropes.org''; accessed 2018-08-01.</ref>  [[English Wikipedia]] has a brief description of RationalWiki in its {{Wp|Conservapedia}} article, along with a more recent substantive {{Wp|RationalWiki}} article.  [[Conservapedia]] seems to prefer to pretend that RationalWiki doesn't exist, and to treat it as an '{{Wp|Newspeak#Unperson|unwiki}}' (in the Orwellian sense).  Three RationalWiki articles have been hurled down the Conservapedia memory hole, and presently it is protected from being re-created.<ref>[http://www.Conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Special:Log&page=RationalWiki Combined display of all available logs of RationalWiki on Conservapedia]; ''Conservapedia.com''; [[Conservapedia]]; accessed 2022-12-09.</ref>  This has been mocked at [[New Conservapedia]], whose RationalWiki article states, "We do not include a link. Pseudo-science must be censored beyond all coasts."<ref>[[Archive.org:20150316024118/http://Conservapaedia.Referata.com/wiki/IrrationalWiki|IrrationalWiki]]; ''Conservapaedia.Referata.com'', via [[Archive.org]]; archived 2015-03-16.</ref>

[[:Category:Satire|Satirical]] and [[UrbanDictionary.com:satiricritical|satiricritical]] articles, respectively, on RationalWiki appear [[Uncyclopedia:RationalWiki|here]] in [[Uncyclopedia]] and [[ed:RationalWiki|here]] in [[Encyclopedia Dramatica]]. Uncyclopedia has a [[Uncyclopedia:HowTo:Play RationalTroll|page encouraging readers to vandalize RationalWiki]].

*[[Debatepedia wiki]] likewise discusses controversial topics, but puts contrasting opinions side-by-side on the same page. RationalWiki similarly has side-by-side articles.

*[[Psiram]] — a wiki that is similar in attitude (multilingual)<includeonly>

[[Category:Wikis that mandate TLS 1.3]]

[[Category:Wikis that mandate JavaScript]]

[[Category:Ideological]]

[[Category:Anti-Scientology]]