Nine Theses on Wikipedia: A Special Feature
I submit these nine theses to Wikipedia’s community and to the world. I do this, as Martin Luther said when he posted his famous 95 theses, “Out of love for the truth and the desire to elucidate it.”
My Blog
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Is it time to establish Internet user unions?
Since everybody and his grandma have gotten on the Internet in a big way in the last few years, the social influence of giant Internet companies has skyrocketed. Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, Amazon, Twitter, and many more wield enormous power over us. We have given them that power. Their success is built on participation, and we…
5 comments on Is it time to establish Internet user unions?5 minutes -
Wikimedia Foundation Board Officially Rejects Porn Filter
Last Wednesday, the Wikimedia Foundation board quietly voted, in person, 10-0 in favor of repealing the “personal image hiding feature”–in other words, a very weak, opt-in porn filter. “Quietly,” I say, because the resolution was not posted publicly until the middle of the weekend. Note that the page mistakenly states that Jimmy Wales voted against…
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Your Baby Can Read closes up shop
The companies behind Your Baby Can Read have, faced with daunting legal costs, gone out of business, according to this Facebook post and, now, the text on YourBabyCanRead.com: FROM ALL OF US AT YOUR BABY CAN READ!THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOYAL SUPPORT AND BEING SUCH GREAT CUSTOMERS! For more than 6 years, Your Baby Can Read!…
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Dad & Junior find porn via a Wikipedia “Schools Gateway”
I thought I’d illustrate one of the “what could possibly go wrong?” scenarios, for people who (1) don’t want to click on the nasty links and/or (2) lack imagination. Script: Opening shot: article about unfiltered porn on Wikipedia Voiceover: The adult imagery is blurred in this video. Still, don’t watch it with your kids. Man…
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Update about the boys, part 1 – June 2012
I’m due to give you an update about H.’s education. (I guess E. will be in a separate post, as before.) He has turned six. I’m looking forward to his being in the first grade (or that age), so I don’t have to defend or make excuses about the amount of educational stuff I do…
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Jimmy Wales reiterates support for Wikipedia porn filter
Over on Twitter, I’ve been having the first conversation, of sorts, I’ve had in years with Jimmy Wales. First, I wrote (pointing to my post, “What should we do about Wikipedia’s porn problem?”): Jimbo replied: Hmm, I thought: Jimbo had a couple of replies to this, too: I found it implausible that the God King…
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What should we do about Wikipedia’s porn problem?
I want to start a conversation. I. Problem? What problem? So, you didn’t know that Wikipedia has a porn problem? Let me say what I do not mean by “Wikipedia’s porn problem.” I do not mean simply that Wikipedia has a lot of porn. That’s part of the problem, but it’s not even the main problem.…
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An assortment of things that should exist
Occasionally I wish I had time to write a book to explain these ideas in detail. (Some of these are actually book ideas. Some of them are project ideas.) 1. A tutorial system, independent of any university, managed via a neutral online database; and an expanded system of degrees by examination. 2. Textop! I love…
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Why is spaced repetition not better known?
Suppose a method let you remember things with a 95% success rate–in other words, whatever information you’ve put into a system, you’d have a 95% chance of recalling it–and this effect is permanent, as long you continue to use the method. That would be quite remarkable, wouldn’t it? Well, there is such a method, called…
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How not to use the Internet, part 4: how “social” is social media?
<< Part 3: How the Internet’s current design philosophy fails 4. How “social” is social media? A person who is “social,” we think, gets along with others and does not always stay at home. They mix well. This is, we hope, because they like other people, not because they’re trying to take advantage of them. They…
3 minutes
Support the Knowledge Standards Foundation:

- An open reply to Jimmy Wales. He's wrong: Grokipedia won't necessarily be biased; and, obviously, the Trump article is badly biased. First of a series of replies to Jimmy's remarks in this Reason exposé: https://reason.com/video/2026/02/23/can-you-trust-wikipedia/
- I invited my X peeps to ask me questions and then "like" the various questions, and I would upload the answers in video form. Here it is! Christian identity – 1:10 "Call no man teacher" – 9:25 Role of government – 15:45 Authority & resistance – 19:15 Wikipedia labor – 24:20 Net value of Wikipedia […]
