A funny thought occurred to me while looking over QuickChanges: if one detaches oneself a bit from the ongoing discussion, work or browsing of pages on Wiki, some processes become - well - funny.

Examples: 

* Since I gave up following the D''''''eletionWar over W''''''ikiBlackList some time ago, today I couldn't but laugh about W''''''ikiBlackList becoming deleted, some time later become undeleted and so on. From the perspective of QuickChanges, this is like looking at some blinking led or something. See also WikiFlicker 

* A slower "blinking" page is K''''''urtCobainJokes, Every now and then, somebody googling for Kurt deletes the page (that is, I guess these are mostly external deletes as opposed to the EditWar deletes above).

* Some WikiGnome updating AbandonedHomePage''''''s, which is like more and more leds going on and forming a longer and longer chain or line.

* Wiki after a downtime. Suddenly, a lot of pages appearing on QuickChanges.

* Wiki in the night (strange enough, given the worldwide web, the American night is meant). Sometime, there are bursts of edits by some WikiZen, separated by a 'gap' from the next burst. Again, best seen in QuickChanges.

* With the advent of TheAdjunct and WikiReductionism, one sees this common pattern:  An OffTopic page is corrected or modified.  This brings it to the attention of a WikiReductionist QuickChangesJunkie, who then promptly deletes it (optionally labelling it OffTopic or PleaseMoveThisToTheAdjunct first).  This has introduced a stifling force for any non-WikiReductionists to leave pages to stagnate.  "The nail that sticks out is hammered down!" -- IanOsgood

Of course, many social processes become funny when one looks at them from an appropriate distance. I think, it must be somewhat like looking at a - more or less unusual - animal society.
Probably, aliens looking at human intercourse would wonder about us that way all the time. :-)

Historical note: These patterns (spotted sometime in 2004) are no longer present, probably due to the EditCodeWord and other changes.

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With the advent of NewRecentChanges, it is even easier to spot these processes.

Some examples:

* WikiWikiSandbox is in constant turmoil. It is by far the most edited page and has always a long tail in NewRecentChanges.

* WikiGnome''''''Work (renamings, additions) can be seen as long lists of pages with a small constant change in them.

* Each ongoing EditWar can be spotted by its long tail of E''''''ditPingPong with its "+ - + - + -" pattern (or in the case of a DeleteWar by its "del, new, del, new" pattern).

* A''''''boutAtheism was a very funny special case: it remained deleted some time, then came up again, and now has an accompanying A''''''boutAtheismTrollFlag page. The pattern blink-blink-blink - pause - blink-blink-blink - troll-blink-troll-blink-troll. I can even hear Jingle Bells in that pattern.

* The repercussions on NewRecentChanges of the current EditWars remind of a thick dust cloud, that lies over the landscape of useful changes.

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See QuickChangesDiscussion, NewRecentChangesPatterns

CategoryWiki