Anarchopedia

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Anarchopedia is a open project of realization of a portal of knowledge on anarchism, multilingual, written cooperatively on Internet. This project organizes co-operative way and according to the means of the unanimity, the consensus, voluntarism and the several liability between speakers.

Nature of the Anarchopedia project

Significance of the name

The word Anarchopedia is composed of the term “Anarcho” (diminutive of anarchism/Anarchist), and of the term “pedia”, which comes from the old Greek paideia and meaning education (the project wants to be a kind of place to know, a base of knowledge of anarchism, even a place of exchange and studies on anarchism).

Anarchopedia means thus the idea that this encyclopaedia holds, by a whole of means (by the wiki), to allow the development of knowledge on anarchism.

Tally of work of Anarchopedia

The articles come, for a part, encyclopaedia Wikipedia. They are thus, perhaps, to work again (this because of use of the NPOV within wikipedia)…

Anarchopedia (meta for the discussions on Anarchopedia) exists in various languages, including english, german, polish, italian, russian, spanish and others (but some little develloped). A project exists or can exist for each language.

Objectives of the Anarchopedia project

The purpose of it is to clarify the subjects, the topics, to which the anarchistic movement usually refers. It is, inter alia, question in this encyclopaedia, of the organisational means specifically libertarian, the Actions or political theories suggested by the libertarians, of the history of the anarchists and anarchism, the social and economic questions, the anarchistic personalities and theorists, etc...

Contrary to others wikis, general (ex: wikipedia), Anarchopedia will be limited about anarchism, to diversify, later, on different subjects, having report / ratio with anarchism…

Characteristics of Anarchopedia

The Anarchopedia project has specific characteristics which make it single:

• Firstly and above all, the Anarchopedia project is the realization of an encyclopaedia on anarchism, and not a “forum of discussion” (if not outward journey on yaff.net) nor a “Web directory”. Nevertheless, it is possible also to put comments on page of discussion for each article, at the time of dissensions or remarks about the treatment of an article. Anarchopedia is anti-capitalist and anti-authoritative.

• A simple means making it possible to carry out this project in a libertarian way will be to concretize it on a wiki (allowing a direct co-operative relation). A wiki allows creation and the modification by any person of any article. Wiki is a collective tool which makes it possible the anarchistic encyclopaedia to grow rich by work by each one and all, while specifying, while modifying or while adding to it of the articles. Anarchopedia does not have sysops (i.e. a power structure). All users have sysop permissions.

• The articles of Anarchopedia are reusable according to terms' of the free Licence of documentation GNU (whose name is also known in shortened form GFDL). Thus, an individual or an organization can use the contents of Anarchopedia, while conforming under the free Licence of documentation GNU. See Anarchopedia:Copyright.

• Anarchistic points of view / APOV: as far as possible, any encyclopaedic writing in Anarchopedia must take part for one of the anarchistic point of view. The “neutrality of point of view”, such on wikipedia, is not considered useful on Anarchopedia (neutrality being a nonneutral concept :). Of course, it perhaps difficult to arrive to an anarchistic point of view in all the cases. On Anarchopedia, the writing rules aim at being appropriate to the rational people, even if those are not always of the same opinion. The anarchistic points of view indicate that all the facets of a discussed point must be evoked according to these points of view, and that the article must in no way of declaring, of implying or of even insinuating, that one from the points of view is that which is correct a priori. The anarchistic points of view do not imply however the representation with equality from these various points of view. Anarchopedia naturally grants place to from the traditional or recent anarchistic points of view, but nones from the being asserted point of view of certain worse anarchistic groupings (“anarchist”-capitalist, national-“anarchists”, - and in the kind in reconversion, or reappropriation, to be made a new image -). Right-wing, pro-state, and pro-capitalist POVs are not welcome here. Moreover, if a point of view is for example only constant by certain groups of certain specific ideological tendencies, it will be described like that.

Operation of Anarchopedia

Modification of the articles

Concretely, each page of Anarchopedia comprises a mitre “to publish” on which any visitor, even not recorded, can click to modify, to add or remove what it contains. Each one can also create new pages, leading the site to grow.

For the edition of the pages, a syntax wiki, kind of very simplified language HTML, make it possible to treat page-setting and the activation of bonds.

Principle of Wikis

Anarchopedia and its parallel projects are of the “WikiWikiWebs” free. Created in 1995 by “Ward Cunningham”, Wiki draws its name from the word hawaïen “WikiWiki”, which means “quickly”. Developed originally by communities of free developers of software, Wikis are dynamic Web sites, of which any visitor can modify the page which it is reading. Thanks to this characteristic, on Wiki, the limit between the reader and the author tend to disappear. The syntax of the wiki is much simpler than the “HTML”, and it is enough to a few moments to learn it (two apostrophes to put in italic, three to boldface, two hooks for a bond), nevertheless a bar, with various buttons (will gra, underlined, wikif, etc), with the top of the framework of edition is available to simplify the use of syntax (by buttons).

Anarchopedia functions with the free software “MediaWiki”. The data of Anarchopedia (present in a “data base”), all languages can be downloaded starting from the direction SERVER + /dev/db/ of each anarchopedia.

Monitoring of the quality of the articles

The MediaWiki software, like all wiki, is matched multiple functionalities making it possible to facilitate the consultation and the management of the site. It is thus possible to constantly consult the last modifications made to the whole of the site (news pages, new contributions, recent Modifications…).

In Anarchopedia, the participants add their contributions to those of the others. Thus, they correct the errors of other writers and work together on the topics possibly discussed by respecting APOV.

All the history of the contributions is preserved: successive versions of the text, authors, reasons for the modifications, dates. It can be consulted while clicking on the “historical” mitre. This permanent device of safeguard makes it possible to return to the need to a preceding version. Thus, even in the presence of “vandal” (the nickname given to the people which erases or deteriorates an article), the encyclopaedia is not endangered.

The recorded anarchopediens can follow lists of articles (bond “followed by the articles”), often those on which they intervened. It is thus possible for them to show vigilance on the evolution of the contents of the articles which interest them. MediaWiki makes it possible to post the text modified between two versions, even if they are not followed.

The followed articles can thus be rectified if erroneous information entered, or if the quality of the article drops: style, orthography, poor presentation, lack of clearness, need for a synthesis of the data. This system of follow-up of the articles also makes it possible to locate the acts of vandalism, and to restore the preceding version of the text.

In the event of dissension on the contents of an article, a argued debate proceeds in the page of discussion annexed to the article. This discussion forms integral part of the encyclopaedia, and its reading can be instructive on the delicate points to treat in the contents of the article. This page is consultable thanks to the mitre “discussion”.

there's never of vote to determine the contents of an article. This practice would be deeply antagonistic of a step encyclopedist. The contents of the articles relating to subjects polemical on anarchism are established following reasoned and argued debates, and not according to the opinion of the greatest number. For this reason, Anarchopedia should not be confused with a “democracy of opinion”.

Participants

Anarchopedia is published by Net surfers called Anarchopedians coming from various places of the sphere.

The contributors can create an account with a name and a password, but it is not obligatory. The recorded contributors profit from a personal page and additional functionalities. In fact, the majority of the contributors are recorded. There are currently some contributors in differents languages.

There is not “chief” in the project Anarchopedia, the project is entirely managed by its voluntary participants. To contribute to it, it is enough to read the assistance (!?) and to possibly create an account .

An anarchistic encyclopaedia

Anarchopedia is an anarchistic encyclopaedia with the political sense of the term: its operation is founded on the autonomy and the self-management of the anarchopedians, and not on the authority of some.

In this sense, it illustrates the celebrates formula of Pierre Joseph Proudhon : “Anarchy, it is the order, without the authority” (Confessions of a revolutionist).

On the other hand, Anarchopedia is the opposite of a “anarchy” within the meaning of a community struck by a state of disorder. The order east defines by the individuals associated on anarchopedia.

If the anarchopedians do not give orders to the anarchopedians. Certain co-operators can be elected at the time of general assemblies, thus giving them a precise mandate in supplement (...).

Anarchopedia and collective regulation

Why Anarchopedia doesn't it break down ?

By its open organization and because of the absence of holders of authority, Anarchopedia can appear like a project very fragile, ready to break down under the attacks of the vandals, or with being submerged by not-respectful contributions of its rules.

Anarchopedia undergoes, from time to time, the effect of vandals who seek to degrade his contents, to even erase its pages.

As for the vandals, they always showed less perseverance than Anarchopedians.

On final, a report is essential: there are more Net surfers wishing to work for the interest of the realization of anarchopedia, than people who seek to harm to him.

Why take part in Anarchopedia ?

With the first access, to devote time to Anarchopedia does not appear a particularly attractive activity. It is necessary:

• to assimilate a great number of rules of operation of the tool wiki and anarchopedia,
• to show humility by accepting that its texts are modified by other participants,
• to accept that others can have another approach of a question that oneself,
• to respect opinions sometimes frankly contrary with his on subjects polemize, under the Anarchist Points of view.
• to devote time to ungrateful tasks like the correction of the spelling mistakes or the errors of working.

Critical with regard to Anarchopedia and answers

Principal criticisms

The growing success of Anarchopedia led a great number of people to formulate a critical opinion on the reliability of the information presented in this encyclopaedia. The statute of Anarchopedia as a source of reference remains a subject of controversy. The principal objections are as follows:

• the absence of filtering of the editors according to their competences, which involves the risk of inaccuracies, and more generally the absence of reading panel guaranteeing the quality of the articles,
• the heterogeneity of the quality of the articles,
• the preference for the consensus of the editors after a reasoned debate, rather than for the argument of authority,
• anarchistic Points of view, considered as an illusion or a political or cultural prejudice,
• the risk to seek the anarchistic consensus rather than the anarchistic truth, and to support the relativism in the name of the anarchistic Point of view, even if it means to tolerate unfounded speeches on subjects concerned with personal philosophy, or propaganda for groups for example,
• the anonymity of the majority of the contributors,
• the vandalism, supported by the open nature of wiki.
• the risk to see groupings using Anarchopedia to make propaganda, or many geniuses autoclaimed to disseminate eccentric information,
• the systematic existence of skew in spite of the concern from the anarchistic point of view,
• apparent lack of responsibility and references compared with other encyclopaedias,
• skepticism on the capacity of Anarchopedia, considering its operation based on a collective regulation, to improve quality of the articles, even the prediction of an inescapable walk towards the mediocrity,
• a great number of articles are appeared as a compilation of rough information, without the effort of synthesis which should characterize an encyclopaedic text,
• the contents of Anarchopedia are closely related to the centers of interest of its contributors, from where lacks in the panorama of knowledge.

Answers to criticisms

TODO

Extent of the Anarchopedia project

There is ten editions of Anarchopédia located by language, and among them less than five are really active…

• Anarchopedia (for the discussions on the Anarchopedia project).
• english,
• german,
• polish,
• italian,
• russian,
• spanish
• Bahasa Indonesia
• Hrvatski
• Русский
• Српски / Srpski

History

Antecedents

The Anarchopedia project falls under a will to continue with “modern” means (Internet and wiki), the project of collection and organization of the knowledge on anarchism. The idea to gather the whole of knowledge on anarchism will be initiated by Sebastien Faure in the anarchistic encyclopaedia (1927), or by maitron in its works of history on the anarchists, and various anarchistic authors will gather documents or writings allowing a posteriori to carry out this base of knowledge on anarchism.

With the development of Internet, several people developed knowledge bases on anarchism by Internet (bibliotecs, writings, daily bleed, etc).

Origin of the project

Wikipedia will be another knowledge base under development, they will be one of the bases and inspirer of this project.

Anarchopedia project

Milos rancic will launch the project Anarchopedia (and as Anarchapedia) in September 2004, with multiple languages, and with as difference with wikipedia as that the statute Sysop is given to each user; thus launching a direct experiment of anarchy.

The meta will start in "September 2004", the anglophone part will start in November 2004, and several other projects will be carried out thereafter.

similar project

• A parallel project, just in french language, and without sysop for all, was launch in november 2004 on zaup.org. that project will be fused with the anarchopedia project on march / april 2005.

• A [polish parallel project], just in polish language, was launch in ???? on ????. that project will be fused with the anarchopedia project on ???? ????.

• A parallel project, just in danish language, was launch in ???? on ????. that project will be fused with the anarchopedia project on ???? ????.

Other forms of diffusion of Anarchopedia

CD ? DVD ? P2P ? Papers ?

advance of Anarchopedia

Principal indicators of the advance of Anarchopedia

to make, with the statistics…

See too

You can read some of the articles which intend to particulary describe Anarchopedia:

• Anarchopedia, itself
• Anarchopedia, purpose
• Anarchopedia, we
• Anarchopedia, policy
• direct democracy
• sysops
• point of view (POV)
• large public wiki
• factions: Reds, Pinks, Greens, Blues, Golds, Trolls, Elves