Why Wikipedia works: Agreeing on source notability, not facts.

mamot.fr/@pluralistic/11515297…

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Cory Doctorow

2025-09-05 17:55:26

If you've ever spent time around Wikipedians, you've doubtless heard its motto: "Wikipedia only works in practice. In theory, it's a mess." It's a delicious line, which is why I stole it for my 2017 novel *Walkaway*.

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

pluralistic.net/2025/09/05/be-…

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Pluralistic: Why Wikipedia works (05 Sep 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

^{pluralistic.net}

Hey look at this

* WKRP: Johnny Fever Mix awphooey.com/wkrp (h/t Mitch Wagner)

* Why AI Narrators Will Never Be Able to Tell a Real Human Story lithub.com/why-ai-narrators-wi…

* Sugar Daddies prospect.org/power/sugar-daddi…

* UK government trial of M365 Copilot finds no clear productivity boost theregister.com/2025/09/04/m36… (h/t Slashdot)

* Age Verification Is A Windfall for Big Tech—And A Death Sentence For Smaller Platforms eff.org/deeplinks/2025/09/age-…

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#20yrsago Imagineer who designed Disneyland castle is dead, alas latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-20…

#20yrsago Understanding the Kazaa judgment weatherall.blogspot.com/2005_0…

#15yrsago XKCD cake web.archive.org/web/2010090900…

#15yrsago Latest leaked draft of secret copyright treaty: US trying to cram DRM rules down the world’s throats michaelgeist.ca/2010/09/acta-d…

#15yrsago Gibson’s ZERO HISTORY: exciting adventure that wakes you to the present-day’s futurism memex.craphound.com/2010/09/06…

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Yesterday's threads: Canny Valley; and more!

mamot.fr/@pluralistic/11514697…

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Cory Doctorow

2025-09-04 16:30:20

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Canny Valley; and more!

Archived at: pluralistic.net/2025/09/04/ill…

#Pluralistic

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Pluralistic: Canny Valley (04 Sep 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

^{pluralistic.net}

My latest novel is "Picks and Shovels," a historical technothriller set in the Weird Era of the PC, about Ponzi schemes, techbros, and the dawn of enshittification:

us.macmillan.com/books/9781250…

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My next nonfiction book is "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," out from MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux on October 7:

us.macmillan.com/books/9780374…

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My ebooks and audiobooks (from Tor Books, Head of Zeus, McSweeneys, Beacon, Verso and others) are for sale all over the net, but I sell 'em too, and when you buy 'em from me, I earn twice as much and you get books with no DRM and no license "agreements."

craphound.com/shop/

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Upcoming appearances:

* #Ithaca: Enshittification at Buffalo Street Books, Sept 11
buffalostreetbooks.com/event/2…

* #Ithaca: AD White keynote (Cornell), Sep 12
deanoffaculty.cornell.edu/even…

* #Ithaca: Enshittification at Autumn Leaves Books, Sept 13
autumnleavesithaca.com/event-d…

* #Ithaca: Radicalized Q&A (Cornell), Sept 16
events.cornell.edu/event/radic…

* #DC: Enshittification at Politics and Prose, with Rohit Chopra, Oct 8
politics-prose.com/cory-doctor…

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Upcoming appearances:

* Ithaca: Enshittification at Buffalo Street Books, Sept 11
buffalostreetbooks.com/event/2…

* Ithaca: AD White keynote (Cornell), Sep 12
deanoffaculty.cornell.edu/even…

* Ithaca: Enshittification at Autumn Leaves Books, Sept 13
autumnleavesithaca.com/event-d…

* Ithaca: Radicalized Q&A (Cornell), Sept 16
events.cornell.edu/event/radic…

* DC: Enshittification at Politics and Prose, with Rohit Chopra, Oct 8
politics-prose.com/cory-doctor…

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Upcoming appearances (cont'd):

* NYC: Enshittification at the Brooklyn Public Library, with Lina Khan, Oct 9
bklynlibrary.org/calendar/cory…

* New Orleans: DeepSouthCon63, Oct 10-12
contraflowscifi.org/

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Recent appearances:

* Nerd Harder! (This Week in Tech)
twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tec…

* Techtonic with Mark Hurst
wfmu.org/playlists/shows/15565…

* Cory Doctorow DESTROYS Enshittification (QAA Podcast)
soundcloud.com/qanonanonymous/…

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The most enshittification-proof way to get the Enshittification audiobook, ebook and hardcover is to pre-order them on my Kickstarter! Help me do an end-run around the Amazon/Audible audiobook monopoly and disenshittify your audiobook experience in the process:

disenshittification.org

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