Greg Hill, a reporter for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner is more of a "Cathedral" guy than a "bazaar" fan:

Blogs focus on whatever subjects their creators care to expound upon. While some are academically rigorous, most are merely personal rants. When bloggers feel passionately enough about a subject, often themselves, they create and regularly update blogs expressing their views, usually including hyperlinks to other Web pages that confirm their opinions. All it takes is some inexpensive and user-friendly blogging software, strong opinions and time. Actual knowledge is purely optional.

There are many credible blogs dealing with serious subjects, but most bloggers aren't experts. As the old computer maxim GIGO states, "garbage in, garbage out," and the person believing everything he reads--especially on blogs--is living dangerously indeed.

Some blogs are intentionally unserious, like humorist Dave Berry's blog that features funny inanities of American life sent in by his readers. A recent Berry blog posting, for instance, had a hyperlink to the "Frozen Critters Inventory Price List," where consumers can purchase frozen whole skunks for only $75 apiece, a "Real Rattlesnake Egg with Real Head, Open Mouth, Peeking Out of Egg" for only $18, and, just in time for Thanksgiving, frozen unpainted turkey heads for only $40, with the painted ones running $15 extra.

Blog owners usually don't allow their readers to add their own comments, preferring their monologues to others' dialogues. On the other hand, a "Wiki," which gets its name from the Hawaiian word for "fast," is a type of Web site that encourages active participation. It's the approach taken by Wikipedia, the most pervasive quasi-encyclopedia on the Web. Wikipedia is free and contains millions of articles in scores of languages that pop up early in many Google searches, but the articles' authors are anonymous and can be anyone, so their credibility is dubious.

We must keep the dirty, unwashed masses out of the information business. Otherwise . . . it's chaos!

Posted by: Attila at 01:31 AM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
Post contains 332 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Dave "Berry?" DAVE "BERRY?" BWA-HA-HA!!!! There ya go. He went and married Halle, and didn't keep his maiden name. Sheesh, and the guy complains about accuracy.

Posted by: Chadster at November 18, 2004 07:26 AM (5jLSZ)

2 To repeat: Dave Berry? Boy (girl), it is a good thing that most of us leave our comments turned off, stopping the free exchange of ideas and discussion. Lord forbid that we write our own opinions on the semi-coherent anti right ramblings of the MSM's. Enough sarcasm in that comment? Oh, wait. Most do not allow comments. My Bad!!

Posted by: William Teach at November 18, 2004 04:29 PM (KCG7N)

3 Seriously - Is there anyone out there who refers to a blog as a "wiki"? Like - "Yeah, man, I was checking out this really cool wiki over the weekend." This guy writes for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner? I think his brain is frozen. He needs to get a gig at the Miami Herald but quick!

Posted by: Daniel at November 18, 2004 08:15 PM (fZ/6L)

4 Makes me wonder whether mr hill has some deal with Wikipedia. I think I am pretty Internet(s) savvy, and I have never heard the term "Wiki" before. Mr. Hill is correct on one point: garbage in, garbage out. He did a wonderful job in demonstrating this. He does take a nice jab at the MSM's ability to produce garbage, if ye get my meaning

Posted by: William Teach at November 19, 2004 05:15 AM (KCG7N)

5 Actually, I found this because I was curious about where the term "Wikipedia" came from--what the root word was. I swear, though: Apparently if someone posts inaccurate information at Wikipedia it takes around five minutes for it to be corrected; that's not bad.

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 19, 2004 09:30 AM (SuJa4)

6 Onnnnne morrrrrrrrre thinnnnnnng... Did the author of this hog wallow consider the thousands of teen-run Livejournals that have open comments so that emo kids can all engage in their weird little cyber group-hugs? They count, as well. Sadly enough. Oh yeah, and Wikipedia is a target because it's the most successful serious internet attempt at accuracy and jazz. If we're going to go with the "THE INTERNETS R INNACURETE OH NOES" meme, we have to hit the big, respected guns, won't we? Why am I referring to a third party in the first person plural?

Posted by: Chadster at November 19, 2004 03:08 PM (ZueMK)

7 Yeah, they do do a pretty good job at that site. I have run across it many a time when looking for some documentation. It is funny when one searches "moonbat." Also, Democratic Underground looks like it was almost written by them. Sorry, no Little Miss Attila. But, no Right Wing News, either. However, you can actually write one yourself there.

Posted by: William Teach at November 19, 2004 03:17 PM (TFSHk)

8 The wine urges me on, the bewitching wine, which sets even a wise man to singing and to laughing gently and rouses him up to dance and brings forth words wh

Posted by: fx contact lenses at November 24, 2004 03:47 AM (CFHBk)

9 And David's lips are lock't, but in divine High piping, Pelevi, with "Wine! Wine! Wine! Red wine!—the Nightingale cries to the Rose, That yellow cheek of hers to incarnadine. Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring The Winter Garment of Repentance fling: The Bird of Time has but a little way To fly—and lo, the Bird is on the Wing.

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 24, 2004 06:38 AM (SuJa4)

10 See if you can place that quote. (And I don't want to hear either "where do you want it placed?" or any of the obscene possibilities.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 24, 2004 06:01 PM (SuJa4)

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