[game_preservation] Should Wikipedia Be Responsible for Gaming's History?

[Martin Goldberg]

How very true, haha.  I actually tried turning it around and stating
that it should't be for Wikipedia to decide one method over another.
Rather this has become an organizational issue and that the video game
project should just form a consensus as to what sort of divisional
strategy (or combination thereof) fits it's needs.  Most likely nobody
will listen, as "dates" seem to be what the vocal minority is pushing
for.

Probably as good a time as any for this SIG to maybe broach the topic
of era/generation/division again.  I know we had all done a discussion
on it previously, and I believe came the realization was a combination
of methods needed to occur.  But then the topic petered out and never
reached a conclusion.


Marty



On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 5:23 PM, Henry Lowood <lowood at stanford.edu> wrote:

> Marty,

>

> No doubt for some of the sources mentioned, the discussion there was longer

> than the original sources cited.

>

> On the other hand, where else can you get sentences like,

> "I applaud SexyKick for his excellent research into Gensis numbers presented

> here." [sic]

>

> That discussion is taking place in a alternate universe as far as history

> (as a discipline) is concerned.

>

> Henry

>

> On 1/28/2011 10:49 AM, Martin Goldberg wrote:

>

> Thought people would like to see the type of exhausting (rather than

> exhaustive) argumentative process that goes on at Wikipedia,

> especially when certain personalities there want to ram something

> through.  There is an argument at the video game project there

> regarding console generations.  The camp trying to ram it through

> wants to do away with Wikipedia's use of generations and replace it

> with their vision.

>

> For those brave enough to read through the entire thing, you'll notice

> the entire process follows the same robotic and dogmatic "sources

> dictate content" non-critical thinking approach.  At one point even

> arguing that a source that uses the exact same generations as

> Wikipedia is not the same because they left out Dreamcast from the

> listing of one generation.

>

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Video_games#Are_the_7_generations_fiction.3F_If_not.2C_where_are_the_sources.3F

>

>

> Marty

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> --

> Henry Lowood

> Curator for History of Science & Technology Collections;

>   Film & Media Collections

> HRG, Green Library, 557 Escondido Mall

> Stanford University Libraries, Stanford CA 94305-6004

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>