It’s interesting to see how differently Dave sees himself compared to how the rest of us see him. Take, for example, today’s rant about the Wikipedia court victory:
While it may have been a good defense in court, their position is nonsense. Wales et al promote Wikipedia as an authoritative encyclopedia. Wikipedia likes certain people, and dislikes others — it tends to like people who say it’s wonderful and utopian, and dislikes people who have mixed opinions about it. I believe it’s used as a way to attack people they don’t like.
The fact that the court’s ruling was indisputably the right one is a topic for another blog, but it’s worth taking a look at Dave’s perception of Wikipedia. This is a man who has a profile which is watched over hawkishly by friends of his (Hi, Betsy!). Even the most benign insinuation of non-perfection must be sourced perfectly, while glowing happy-speak took a tremendous amount of effort to eradicate.
As it stands, Dave’s entry serves as a testament to the fact that the Wikipedia model works — if slowly and imperfectly — because for all of the furor around Dave and his contributions (both real and perceived) — his profile has finally made its way to being a fair statement of his work and his personality.
Want to know why he doesn’t like it? Check out the “Relationship to the public” section and the link to EOW — those two are a big part. And the fact that it doesn’t claim him as the creator of all things bloggy.