Initiating the Conversation about Equality on Wikipedia
Having been involved in campaigning to abolish Wikipedia’s notability policy for nearly a year now, I have found that a large part of our task is simply to initiate the conversation. First of all, the idea that Wikipedia’s notability policy is against social justice remains a new idea for many. Although this fact of life has been discussed sporadically over the past decade, the fact that there hasn’t been a dedicated discussion until last year means that awareness is low. Having shared our views with feminists, social justice activists and the general public, we have found encouraging engagement with the idea in multiple sectors of society. In the coming year, we need to keep spreading awareness.
Unfortunately, there are also those who are simply resistant to our views. In my experience, these tend to be people who are actually active Wikipedians, i.e. those who regularly edit the site. It is not surprising that those involved long-term in the game tend to be the most invested in the ‘rules’. As I have said from the outset, I don’t mind people with opposing views, I just ask for a serious, respectful conversation. Unfortunately, many of those who support the status quo haven’t actually provided valid arguments to specifically counter what we offer. They just basically dismiss our views with arguments that we have already debunked in a series of articles published last year:
Given their reluctance to actually have a decent discussion, I think the wise strategy would be to ignore our opponents right now. Instead, we should focus on spreading awareness, initiating conversations with people who are more likely to listen properly. Once the demands for change are more widely heard, the discussions will have to inevitably begin. It may take a year or it may take several to reach this stage, but I am all for playing the long game:
So keep on talking about this issue with your friends. Keep on raising it in feminist and social justice circles. Keep on writing open letters to the Wikipedia management. And don’t forget independent artists and their fans too, as these people have been some of the most interested so far.
Here’s to a successful 2018!
