The Only Way to Fight the Wikipedia Flood

You can fight the flood.

The "Wikipedia Flood" of pro-Hamas editors claimed an important target recently, the Anti-Defamation League of the Bnai Brith. I won't belabor the point as it has been amply publicized, but I do want to amplify some points I've made in the past about how to fight the Flood. There is only one way, and the ADL situation shows why that is so.

The ADL responded for a time with fire and brimstone, appearing on MSNBC and other news outlets. The US Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organization sent a letter to the Wikimedia Foundation expressing "concern and dismay with Wikipedia’s attack on ADL’s reliability on the topic of antisemitism and other issues of central concern to the Jewish community."

The Wikimedia Foundation responded by telling the ADL and the Foundation to drop dead. It did so politely, by hiding behind Wikipedia policies that it knows perfectly well are fictitious:

 In a response to an inquiry from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the foundation did not address the content of the letter, but appeared to reject its very premise. 

“Unfortunately, this letter represents a misunderstanding of the situation and how Wikipedia works,” Maggie Dennis, vice president of community resilience and sustainability at the Wikimedia Foundation, said in an email. ”Firstly, it’s important to note that the letter was addressed to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees; neither the Board or the Foundation make content decisions on Wikipedia. A community of volunteers makes these decisions subject to Wikipedia’s terms of use.”

Note what I put in boldface. What the Foundation failed to point out, because it would upend its entire argument, is that "community" on pages concerning the Arab-Israel conflict can be defined as "the quantity the anti-Israel editors who can be rounded up at any given time."

So how to counter this? There are ways other than what I'm about to suggest, such as pressure on the Foundation, cutting off donations, lawsuits, so on, but the simplest and most effective way is to do what the anti-Israel editors. Create a flood. Pro-Israel editors need to volunteer for Wikipedia and contribute. It's that simple. 

This will require work. Remember that to contribute in the subject area one must be "extended confirmed." That means that you mut have at least 500 edits and an account age of 30 days or more.

So create an account and edit, following these principles:

• Don't pad your edits. While any edit you perform counts toward the 500, don't "game the system" by editing in trivial fashion (like changing a comma to a semicolon over and over again). Become a genuine contributor. Edit in areas outside what they call "Israel/Palestine" subject matter. Edit on anything that interests you outside that area. Your hobbies, your areas of academic interest, anything. These should be genuine contributions, showing interest in areas other than I/P.  

• Learn the ropes. Wikipedia has multiple, conflicting rules and processes. Learn them. 

• Don't rush to edit on I/P.  Don't start editing on the Gaza War when you have 501 contributions and 30.5 days on Wikipedia. Take your time. Remember that new editors in the topic area are put under a microscope. Hostile anti-Israel editors and administrators will scour your contributions and ban you for "gaming the system" if you suddenly switch form writing about calculus to Hamas atrocities. 

• Don't stop editing on non-I/P subjects. If you do, you will be treated with suspicion and hostility as a "special purpose account" and it will be said that you are not there to "improve the project." "Project" is Wikipedia-speak for "Wikipedia."

• Be an asset. Improve articles in non-I/P areas. Introduce sources that were not previously used.

That should get you started. Now, once you've established yourself as a constructive new editor, this is how you should enter the I/P maelstrom after you have a lot more than 500 edits and 30 days under your belt, and after you've been making great contributions in other areas:

• Do it gingerly. Concentrate on one article or discussion. Don't wade into fifteen articles and discussions. Take it slow.

• Be nice. Remember what I said about learning the ropes? By now you have. Remember to be civil even if it hurts. If other editors are not civil there is nothing you can do about it. Don't be provoked. Remember to be civil everywhere. In discussions, edit summaries. Remember that anything you do that isn't civil (or is civil for that matter) can will be used against you by the pro-Hamas crowd.

• Don't complain. If you're not treated properly, don't go rushing to "Arbitration enforcement" and other such "drama boards" that theoretically are supposed to deal with editor misbehavior. They can be turned against you due to what is known as the "boomerang," which happens on a whim sometimes, if the Flood can pile on and accuse you of being a bad actor.

• Keep a record of misconduct by others. When others are uncivil or otherwise violate Wikipedia rules, be sure you have a record of it so you can use it against them.

• Don't even think of sockpuppeting. Wikipedia is alert to editors creating phony accounts. Create one. Create more and you will be discovered. Don't think you can get away with it.

• Don't be overtly partisan. Watch your language. Act neutral. Pretend that you don't have strong feelings. Don't give vent to your feelings about Hamas, Sinwar, etc.  If you do, you will be topic-banned. Anti-Israel editors will be warned for making such comments. You will be sanctioned. 

•  Be conscious of the double standard. Pro-Israel editors are treated far more harshly than anti-Israel editors in any given set of circumstances. That's why it is important to obey the rules scrupulously and keep a record of misconduct by others. 

• Don't be dragged into long, repetitive discussions. Anti-Israel editors do that to wear out the other side. Make your point and do something else. That is what experienced editors do. Newbies get sucked into ridiculous, circular arguments.

Now this doesn't mean that you should be a "boy scout." You can bet the pro-Hamas editors aren't. They are almost certainly coordinating their efforts privately via email. You should too.  

This is known as "canvassing," which is contrary to Wikipedia rules, so be sure that you do so with people you know personally in "real life." Do not communicate with other editors using the Wikipedia email system. While the contents of your emails supposedly can't be read, a record is kept of who you are emailing through the system. That is none of their business.

This is not an exhaustive list of dos and don'ts, but it should be enough to get you started. I will be adding to this from time to time. Feel free to comment with questions and suggestions of your own.

Lastly I have a suggestion for the ADL. You have formidable research capabilities. Use them to help pro-Israel editors stem the Wikipedia Flood. Have your researchers produce sources for use in contentious articles and make them publicly available.

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