Stephen Harrison
@stephenharrison.com
Longtime Wikipedia beat reporter (Slate, NYT, WIRED). Author of THE EDITORS, a Wiki-inspired novel. stephenharrison.com
Pinned
Reposted by Stephen Harrison
If you want to chuckle about odd/delightful corners of wikipedia and hear a bunch of very funny lore behind the scenes, you should come to my show Monday in NYC! Hasn't sold out yet and anything could happen—maybe years of practicing the worm will pay off, truly who knows!!!
November 8, 2025 at 9:27 PM
If you want to chuckle about odd/delightful corners of wikipedia and hear a bunch of very funny lore behind the scenes, you should come to my show Monday in NYC! Hasn't sold out yet and anything could happen—maybe years of practicing the worm will pay off, truly who knows!!!
Social relationships: reciprocal, mutual interaction & knowledge.
Parasocial relationships: one-sided emotional connection with someone who doesn't know you exist.
The internet trends parasocial but it doesn’t have to.
Wikipedia editors (even anonymous ones) are weirdly social by this definition.
Parasocial relationships: one-sided emotional connection with someone who doesn't know you exist.
The internet trends parasocial but it doesn’t have to.
Wikipedia editors (even anonymous ones) are weirdly social by this definition.
November 8, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Social relationships: reciprocal, mutual interaction & knowledge.
Parasocial relationships: one-sided emotional connection with someone who doesn't know you exist.
The internet trends parasocial but it doesn’t have to.
Wikipedia editors (even anonymous ones) are weirdly social by this definition.
Parasocial relationships: one-sided emotional connection with someone who doesn't know you exist.
The internet trends parasocial but it doesn’t have to.
Wikipedia editors (even anonymous ones) are weirdly social by this definition.
Reposted by Stephen Harrison
In 2008, Google created an ad-powered wiki encyclopedia called Knol, seen as a "Wikipedia killer" amid its highly-publicized launch. And the Wikimedia Foundation gave an unbothered response that I quite like: "the more good free content, the better for the world." Anyway Knol instantly flopped
October 29, 2025 at 2:37 PM
In 2008, Google created an ad-powered wiki encyclopedia called Knol, seen as a "Wikipedia killer" amid its highly-publicized launch. And the Wikimedia Foundation gave an unbothered response that I quite like: "the more good free content, the better for the world." Anyway Knol instantly flopped
Reposted by Stephen Harrison
The practice of building a new encyclopedia by directly pulling entire articles from extant competitors is by no means novel (Wikipedia originally did the same with the 11th edition of Britannica). #Grokipedia may, however, be the first encyclopedia in centuries to include zero cross-referencing.
October 28, 2025 at 9:40 AM
The practice of building a new encyclopedia by directly pulling entire articles from extant competitors is by no means novel (Wikipedia originally did the same with the 11th edition of Britannica). #Grokipedia may, however, be the first encyclopedia in centuries to include zero cross-referencing.
Reposted by Stephen Harrison
Elon Musk’s Grokipedia contains copied Wikipedia pages
Elon Musk’s Grokipedia contains copied Wikipedia pages
Ironic.
buff.ly
October 28, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Elon Musk’s Grokipedia contains copied Wikipedia pages
wasn’t my most out-there take, but still… called it
October 28, 2025 at 12:22 AM
wasn’t my most out-there take, but still… called it
Excellent @willoremus.com piece about the launch of Grokipedia, Elon’s historical relationship with Wikipedia, and whether AI language models (as opposed to humans) are good enough to write a trustworthy encyclopedia. On that point, I agree with @jimmywales.bsky.social
Gift link: wapo.st/47PKzTd
Gift link: wapo.st/47PKzTd
October 27, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Excellent @willoremus.com piece about the launch of Grokipedia, Elon’s historical relationship with Wikipedia, and whether AI language models (as opposed to humans) are good enough to write a trustworthy encyclopedia. On that point, I agree with @jimmywales.bsky.social
Gift link: wapo.st/47PKzTd
Gift link: wapo.st/47PKzTd
Felt this was important to write for @slate.com to capture the experience of Wikipedia editors who were there in the room as the armed man took the stage at last weekend's Wikipedia conference.
Pharos and Fuzheado showed courage & quick thinking by taking down the gunman and averting tragedy.
Pharos and Fuzheado showed courage & quick thinking by taking down the gunman and averting tragedy.
A Wikipedia Conference Took a Dark Turn. Unfortunately, It’s Not a Total Surprise.
An armed man at a gathering of the website’s volunteers is just the latest reminder: Editing the internet’s encyclopedia has never been riskier.
slate.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Felt this was important to write for @slate.com to capture the experience of Wikipedia editors who were there in the room as the armed man took the stage at last weekend's Wikipedia conference.
Pharos and Fuzheado showed courage & quick thinking by taking down the gunman and averting tragedy.
Pharos and Fuzheado showed courage & quick thinking by taking down the gunman and averting tragedy.
Reposted by Stephen Harrison
“We’ll be here in 100 years and he won’t.” Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, recently discussed Elon Musk’s attacks on the platform, building trust online and more. Watch, read or listen to “The Interview.” nyti.ms/48ybyEJ
October 18, 2025 at 3:27 PM
“We’ll be here in 100 years and he won’t.” Jimmy Wales, the co-founder of Wikipedia, recently discussed Elon Musk’s attacks on the platform, building trust online and more. Watch, read or listen to “The Interview.” nyti.ms/48ybyEJ
Reposted by Stephen Harrison
“We have so many haters on Wikipedia,” Molly Stark Dean, a Wikipedian and conference organizer who was sitting in the front row, told Slate. “I was like, Which corner of the internet is this guy from?”
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...
A Wikipedia Conference Took a Dark Turn. Unfortunately, It’s Not a Total Surprise.
An armed man at a gathering of the website’s volunteers is just the latest reminder: Editing the internet’s encyclopedia has never been riskier.
slate.com
October 22, 2025 at 10:52 PM
“We have so many haters on Wikipedia,” Molly Stark Dean, a Wikipedian and conference organizer who was sitting in the front row, told Slate. “I was like, Which corner of the internet is this guy from?”
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Stephen Harrison
didn't post about this when it happened friday but..... heroes!
October 21, 2025 at 8:42 AM
didn't post about this when it happened friday but..... heroes!
Reposted by Stephen Harrison
Feeling very proud of my Wikipedian-in-Residence colleagues who tackled an armed suicidal man. Andrew Lih, Wikimedia Laureate 2022, prised a loaded gun from his hand. Richard and Andrew are bookish computer guys who work in libraries. That takes some guts.
Wikipedia Volunteers Avert Tragedy by Taking Down Gunman at Conference
By Andy Newman
At Civic Hall in Union Square, a man with a gun walked onto the stage at a Wikipedia conference.
Richard Knipel, CUNY's Wikimedian-in-Residence, jumped the gunman and, with others' help, saved the day. Gift link
By Andy Newman
At Civic Hall in Union Square, a man with a gun walked onto the stage at a Wikipedia conference.
Richard Knipel, CUNY's Wikimedian-in-Residence, jumped the gunman and, with others' help, saved the day. Gift link
Wikipedia Volunteers Avert Tragedy by Taking Down Gunman at Conference
www.nytimes.com
October 18, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Feeling very proud of my Wikipedian-in-Residence colleagues who tackled an armed suicidal man. Andrew Lih, Wikimedia Laureate 2022, prised a loaded gun from his hand. Richard and Andrew are bookish computer guys who work in libraries. That takes some guts.
Reposted by Stephen Harrison
Wikipedia Volunteers Avert Tragedy by Taking Down Gunman at Conference
By Andy Newman
At Civic Hall in Union Square, a man with a gun walked onto the stage at a Wikipedia conference.
Richard Knipel, CUNY's Wikimedian-in-Residence, jumped the gunman and, with others' help, saved the day. Gift link
By Andy Newman
At Civic Hall in Union Square, a man with a gun walked onto the stage at a Wikipedia conference.
Richard Knipel, CUNY's Wikimedian-in-Residence, jumped the gunman and, with others' help, saved the day. Gift link
Wikipedia Volunteers Avert Tragedy by Taking Down Gunman at Conference
www.nytimes.com
October 18, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Wikipedia Volunteers Avert Tragedy by Taking Down Gunman at Conference
By Andy Newman
At Civic Hall in Union Square, a man with a gun walked onto the stage at a Wikipedia conference.
Richard Knipel, CUNY's Wikimedian-in-Residence, jumped the gunman and, with others' help, saved the day. Gift link
By Andy Newman
At Civic Hall in Union Square, a man with a gun walked onto the stage at a Wikipedia conference.
Richard Knipel, CUNY's Wikimedian-in-Residence, jumped the gunman and, with others' help, saved the day. Gift link
Reposted by Stephen Harrison
At #wikiconferencena a man pulled a gun on stage wearing a "non-offending pedophile" sign, aggrieved, seemingly, that wikipedia doesn't allow him to write about that subject. Disarmed by hero Wikipedians Pharos and Fuzheado and arrested.
October 17, 2025 at 2:41 PM
At #wikiconferencena a man pulled a gun on stage wearing a "non-offending pedophile" sign, aggrieved, seemingly, that wikipedia doesn't allow him to write about that subject. Disarmed by hero Wikipedians Pharos and Fuzheado and arrested.
Reposted by Stephen Harrison
wikipedia's data shows that AI is siphoning traffic away from the site, which is a danger to its sustainability. ironically Wikipedia is more important than ever to users who want reliable information instead of slop, and to AI companies that need it for training data www.404media.co/wikipedia-sa...
Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors
“With fewer visits to Wikipedia, fewer volunteers may grow and enrich the content, and fewer individual donors may support this work.”
www.404media.co
October 17, 2025 at 1:15 AM
wikipedia's data shows that AI is siphoning traffic away from the site, which is a danger to its sustainability. ironically Wikipedia is more important than ever to users who want reliable information instead of slop, and to AI companies that need it for training data www.404media.co/wikipedia-sa...
“The landscape thinks itself in me, and I am in its consciousness.” —Paul Cézanne
October 16, 2025 at 2:38 PM
“The landscape thinks itself in me, and I am in its consciousness.” —Paul Cézanne
“Human beings in the late-modern society of work and information are not the only ones capable of multitasking. Rather, such an aptitude amounts to regression. Multitasking is commonplace among wild animals. It is an attentive technique indispensable for survival in the wilderness.” 1/2
October 15, 2025 at 6:14 PM
“Human beings in the late-modern society of work and information are not the only ones capable of multitasking. Rather, such an aptitude amounts to regression. Multitasking is commonplace among wild animals. It is an attentive technique indispensable for survival in the wilderness.” 1/2
OSS-themed Tron > tech mogul Tron
“If the first Tron is defined by the singular figure of the Silicon Valley upstart and the second by the communitarian ethos of the open-source movement, the new Tron: Ares belongs entirely to tech’s CEO era. Its characters aren’t coders but captains of industry”
“If the first Tron is defined by the singular figure of the Silicon Valley upstart and the second by the communitarian ethos of the open-source movement, the new Tron: Ares belongs entirely to tech’s CEO era. Its characters aren’t coders but captains of industry”
One of Our Oldest Sci-Fi Franchises Is Back. The New Movie Is Woefully Out of Step With Our Moment.
Every generation gets the Tron movie it deserves. That’s bad news for the new one.
slate.com
October 13, 2025 at 12:20 PM
OSS-themed Tron > tech mogul Tron
“If the first Tron is defined by the singular figure of the Silicon Valley upstart and the second by the communitarian ethos of the open-source movement, the new Tron: Ares belongs entirely to tech’s CEO era. Its characters aren’t coders but captains of industry”
“If the first Tron is defined by the singular figure of the Silicon Valley upstart and the second by the communitarian ethos of the open-source movement, the new Tron: Ares belongs entirely to tech’s CEO era. Its characters aren’t coders but captains of industry”
Reposted by Stephen Harrison
Pope Leo keeps scoring points with me...
“Communication must be freed from the misguided thinking that corrupts it, from unfair competition and the degrading practice of so-called clickbait."
The Pope vs. clickbait! Awesome.
And kudos to The Guardian for their headline humor.
“Communication must be freed from the misguided thinking that corrupts it, from unfair competition and the degrading practice of so-called clickbait."
The Pope vs. clickbait! Awesome.
And kudos to The Guardian for their headline humor.
You won’t believe what degrading practice the pope just condemned
Communication must be freed from clickbait and misguided thinking, head of Catholic church tells journalists
www.theguardian.com
October 9, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Pope Leo keeps scoring points with me...
“Communication must be freed from the misguided thinking that corrupts it, from unfair competition and the degrading practice of so-called clickbait."
The Pope vs. clickbait! Awesome.
And kudos to The Guardian for their headline humor.
“Communication must be freed from the misguided thinking that corrupts it, from unfair competition and the degrading practice of so-called clickbait."
The Pope vs. clickbait! Awesome.
And kudos to The Guardian for their headline humor.
Reposted by Stephen Harrison
Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...
October 6, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...
“I’m a lycanthropic spell checker.” That’s how Wikipedia editor WereSpielChequers explains his username.
In my latest newsletter, we talked about easily confused words, dead links, and the election process for the Wikimedia Foundation’s board of trustees.
In my latest newsletter, we talked about easily confused words, dead links, and the election process for the Wikimedia Foundation’s board of trustees.
Inside Wikipedia’s Board Elections
Interviewing candidate Jonathan Cardy about what it takes to join the board of trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation and its role in shaping one of the world’s most influential websites.
www.stephenharrison.com
October 4, 2025 at 1:36 PM
“I’m a lycanthropic spell checker.” That’s how Wikipedia editor WereSpielChequers explains his username.
In my latest newsletter, we talked about easily confused words, dead links, and the election process for the Wikimedia Foundation’s board of trustees.
In my latest newsletter, we talked about easily confused words, dead links, and the election process for the Wikimedia Foundation’s board of trustees.
I've written before about Wikiracing, but it's not the only wiki-based game.
The WikiGameJam is a WikiHaus hackathon happening this weekend (Oct 3-5) at Hex House in Brooklyn: wikigamejam.org
They'll be playing WikiAsteroids, WikiTrivia, and hopefully designing the next gen of wiki-powered games.
The WikiGameJam is a WikiHaus hackathon happening this weekend (Oct 3-5) at Hex House in Brooklyn: wikigamejam.org
They'll be playing WikiAsteroids, WikiTrivia, and hopefully designing the next gen of wiki-powered games.
Wiki Arcade - A Showcase of Wiki-Powered Games
Discover and play fun games powered by Wikipedia and other wikis.
playwiki.games
October 3, 2025 at 8:30 PM
I've written before about Wikiracing, but it's not the only wiki-based game.
The WikiGameJam is a WikiHaus hackathon happening this weekend (Oct 3-5) at Hex House in Brooklyn: wikigamejam.org
They'll be playing WikiAsteroids, WikiTrivia, and hopefully designing the next gen of wiki-powered games.
The WikiGameJam is a WikiHaus hackathon happening this weekend (Oct 3-5) at Hex House in Brooklyn: wikigamejam.org
They'll be playing WikiAsteroids, WikiTrivia, and hopefully designing the next gen of wiki-powered games.
The biggest Wikipedia news this week? Amazon sold out of “The Editors.” Don’t worry, it’ll be back in stock soon and in the meantime, you can grab a copy other places.
October 1, 2025 at 2:33 PM
The biggest Wikipedia news this week? Amazon sold out of “The Editors.” Don’t worry, it’ll be back in stock soon and in the meantime, you can grab a copy other places.
Wikipedia editors have put together a guide on signs of AI writing:
-Tone: vague attribution of opinion ("has been described as")
-Style: the now infamous em dashes; excessive use of boldface
-Communication intended for the user: "I hope this helps," "You're absolutely right," sycophantic chatter
-Tone: vague attribution of opinion ("has been described as")
-Style: the now infamous em dashes; excessive use of boldface
-Communication intended for the user: "I hope this helps," "You're absolutely right," sycophantic chatter
Here’s a handy guide to help you spot AI writing.
Source image from Wikimedia Foundation It’s always a bit surprising to me how trusted Wikipedia has become, since I spent my entire childhood being told by adults to never, ever, trust it. But the …
lithub.com
September 30, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Wikipedia editors have put together a guide on signs of AI writing:
-Tone: vague attribution of opinion ("has been described as")
-Style: the now infamous em dashes; excessive use of boldface
-Communication intended for the user: "I hope this helps," "You're absolutely right," sycophantic chatter
-Tone: vague attribution of opinion ("has been described as")
-Style: the now infamous em dashes; excessive use of boldface
-Communication intended for the user: "I hope this helps," "You're absolutely right," sycophantic chatter