Template:RationalWiki: Difference between revisions

RationalWiki also has a namespace dedicated to [[Conservapedia]],<ref>[https://RationalWiki.org/w/index.php?title=Special:AllPages&namespace=100 All pages (Conservapedia namespace)]; ''RationalWiki.org''; accessed: 2018-08-01</ref> and a collection of recipes,<ref>[https://RationalWiki.org/w/index.php?title=Special:AllPages&namespace=108 All pages (Recipe namespace)]; ''RationalWiki.org''; accessed: 2018-08-01</ref> some of which are pseudo-recipes whose real purpose is to impart jokes<ref>[[RationalWiki:Recipe:Insanity]]; ''RationalWiki.org''; accessed: 2018-08-01</ref> or religious commentary.<ref>[[RationalWiki:Recipe:Atheist's Nightmare]]; ''RationalWiki.org''; accessed: 2018-08-01</ref>  The site's slogan rotates among several dozen possibilities, some of which are weighted more heavily than others.<ref>[https://RationalWiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:RationalWiki_Slogan&action=edit View source for Template:RationalWiki Slogan]; ''RationalWiki.org''; accessed: 2018-08-01</ref>

RationalWiki started in [[:Category:FoundedIn2007|May 2007]], after a group of [[editor]]s at [[Conservapedia]] were banned over [[:Category:Ideology|ideological]] differences with the authorities there.  Their edits 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>[[RationalWiki:Forum:Expanding RW's mission#Less talking, more voting!]]; ''RationalWiki.org''; accessed: 2018-08-01</ref>

While [[Conservapedia]] continues to be a major source of traffic to RationalWiki (mainly, their [[RationalWiki: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, [[:Category:Judaism|Jews]], [[:Category:Islam|Muslims]], or [[wp:Heathenry (new religious movement)|Odinists]] (among others); tending towards the more liberal aspects of their religion rather than fundamentalism.  However, most of the regular contributers to RationalWiki are atheists.

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 very short blocks.<ref name=RW-BlockLog/>

RationalWiki has one or two [[:Category:GreatFeature|great features]] — readers can vote on their 'What Is Going On' pages;{{Fact}} there are random text generators for entertainment purposes — usually for parodying various figures at Conservapedia.{{Fact}}

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.

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]]; ''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]]; ''EncyclopediaDramatica.rs''; [[Encyclopedia Dramatica]]; accessed: 2018-08-01</ref>

*[[RationalWikiWikiWiki]] — a criticism and discussion site of RationalWiki and RationalWikiWiki (now defunct)