"Airports are very stressful places for a lot of people"

So spake a Sydney magistrate who, as today's Australian reports, did not convict a university lecturer who pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and swearing in a public place (that's still an offence?) because she missed a Jetstar flight to Hervey Bay.

The magistrate expected a bucketload of criticism from the usual tabloid sources. I don't condone violence but I do think that the magistrate has a point and, moreover, that the authorities, by which I mean airline, customs/immigration/ quarantine , airport security and management, can do more to alleviate matters.

For starters:

1. Review processes with a view to speeding them up at both departure and (particularly for international flights) arrival .

This means, among other things:

• improving technology, eg x-ray equipment, to reduce/eliminate errors: on my recent trip transiting via Singapore (and not going out of the airport) I had to empty my carry on bag as the X-ray operators were adamant that I was carrying a small cutting instrument (I wasn't, but they wouldn't take my word for it).
  
• seeing that enough trained people are available to deal with the customers.

2. Provide passengers with as sufficient information as possible to help them go through departure and arrival formalities as smoothly as possible.

Suggestions:

• make information available as widely as possible and in a variety of media: online, print and, for inbound passengers, in the destination videos which are shown just before arrival.
• have clear instructions and signage throughout terminals.

If this sounds like I'm just being grumpy let me give a bouquet to the authorities at Heathrow, who seem to have, especially after the foiled bombing attempt at Glasgow airport, recognised that slow moving crowds of people in terminals can be a major security risk. My impression when I left this year was that the processing was still rigorous but that people didn't have to wait as long as has been the case in the past. By no means perfect (and the immigration counters for arriving non-British/EU citizens are understaffed - or perhaps on the morning when I passed through there were a few late arrivals ) but getting better.

In Australia the procedures at Darwin Airport were sub-standard: a long, slow moving queue stretched out of the terminal building into the tropical night, and the few instructions were bellowed out by the staff operating the x-ray machines (in a language which I, but not I imagine foreign passengers, just recognised as Australian English). Some of the staff came across as brusque and officious. Not a good way to welcome visitors and returning citizens.

Note: The version of this story printed in The Oz is longer than the online version linked to above.

Bernie Banton: "decency and humanity that was sorely needed"

Bernie Banton has died after a long, courageous and dignified fight against mesothelioma. He was 61.

The Sydney Morning Herald's obituary covers his varied working life, which included stints as a house painter, funeral director and car salesman. He came to public prominence during the long fight against James Hardie for compensation. Greg Combet, the then ACTU secretary, said of this time "Bernie has been there every day and has lent to this entire process a decency and humanity that was sorely needed." A good example and a good epitaph.

Matt Price: the fragility and caprice of life

Matt Price has died, soon - too soon - after, as I posted last month, he was diagnosed with brain tumours. He was only 46.

He was best known to most people, other than Fremantle Dockers supporters, as a political writer for The Australian. His blog posts and "Sketch" pieces were masterpieces of astute, but not often savage, observation of the quirkiness of politicians, and sometimes others. This from December last year is a favourite of mine, while this from just two months ago is another.

His obituary appears in today's Australian . The online version includes links to some of his pieces, including another favourite of mine, a description of his meeting with Bob Dylan .

To finish, a quote from a more reflective piece :

...it's simply impossible to dwell on the minutiae of politics or much else when the fragility and caprice of life comes along to kick you square in the solar plexus.

.......

Update 27 November

I've been reading more of Matt's columns and blog posts (once I start it's hard to stop). Here are a couple of other pieces.

This criticises criminal investigation methods in Perth (but the general points are surely applicable to other towns and cities).

This describes some predictions of his, eg that Kevin Rudd was foolish to challenge Kym Beazley for the ALP leadership last year, which left him with egg on his face. Extract:

Unkind readers will be able to produce a much longer litany of silly things spouted in this space: the aforementioned bung predictions were simply plucked off the top of my head. Perhaps I’ve got a few things right, too. Surely not.

That’s the fun and privilege of being a paid know-all. Were your local MP prone to get things wrong as often as your average pundit, they would quickly be hounded out of public life.

There are all sorts of columns and columnists: thought-provoking, pointy-headed, partisan, quirky, authoritative, evangelical, clever, barracking, specialised, cautious, outrageous, inspiring, weighty, humorous, hectoring, provocative, shambolic, mocking, rambling, reactionary, personal, predictable, self-indulgent, angry, moving, pointless, profound, insightful, balanced, persuasive, strident, nitpicking, satirical, outlandish and downright boring. I’ll leave it to you to categorise these scribblings but, in case you’re interested, I’m content with the small but sweet victory of readers starting at the headline and staying through until the final sentence.

What more could any writer (or blogger), no matter which of the above words might apply to their work, wish for?

"A new page in our nation's history"

Thus did Mr Rudd modestly describe his and the ALP's success in Saturday's election. I'd have not raised even an eyebrow if, given the scale of the victory, he'd used the word "chapter" instead of "page". His speech acknowledging ("claiming" seems too strong a word) victory was relatively low key: it took the cheers of his audience to remind me that I was witnessing what I hope will turn out to be a significant moment in Australian history.

Despite my tentative prediction about the outcome, it was a landslide in anyone's terms, and I congratulate all those who contributed to the victory.

Special thanks are due to those who developed or modified the policies which look like pointing the nation in a more equitable direction. Given the middle ground over which the ALP and the Coalition fought, or, in some respects merely quibbled, the ALP's strategy of emphasising a few key points of differentiation, eg Workchoices, worked well. The party also maintained a much tighter discipline than the Coalition throughout the campaign: in the past it's often been the other way round.

Naturally the media (mainstream and other) have had plenty to say: take your pick. To choose just one (not entirely at random) Crikey has its customary range of opinion embracing various permutations of the considered, the quirky and the ratbag (this one caught my eye).

Unlike Mr Costello who referred to neither Mr Howard nor Mr Rudd by name during his speech on Saturday night, I thought that Mr Howard conceded defeat graciously. Given recent and current events in Pakistan, Burma and many other countries it's good to see a smooth acknowledgment of a change of government.

Mr Howard held power for so long partly (not entirely) by massaging the underbelly of the Australian character, eg materialism, racism. I hope that Mr Rudd, for all the "me-too" propensities he displayed during the campaign, is less inclined to follow suit. His victory speech may have been short on visionary rhetoric but he did mention Bernie Banton , someone whose case was taken up by the (to the Coalition) much maligned union movement.

I wish Mr Rudd and his government well, and more than one term in office unless they prove exceedingly incompetent, but expect to offer constructive criticism from time to time.

The election

Tomorrow's election hasn't set my world on fire, even though I've followed the protracted and often tedious campaign quite closely since I returned from overseas at the end of last month (there was very little about it in the British media) .

What I've seen is both major parties trying to grab a the larger share of the middle ground. Mr Howard is a pastmaster at doing this, even though he or his followers have stumbled a couple of times eg the Lindsay Affair.

Judging from his policies, Mr Rudd has followed the principle of "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer". The main differences between the ALP and coalition policies are mostly of degree rather than kind , though in industrial relations he does, despite the dilution of the ALP's initial tooth and nail opposition to Workchoices, appear to offer an alternative option, one which is at least better than leaving the coalition's Mark 2 version intact.

I'm not sure about other areas, despite all the huffing and puffing about the alleged differences. I think it's significant that the ALP is promising "new leadership" rather than new policies, which is code for saying "things are pretty much OK at present for most people but we can handle the economy etc a bit better than the Howard - Costello team (or whatever permutation of it might emerge in the event of a coalition victory)".

I will vote tomorrow: before 10am, when the local Christmas pageant begins its journey which takes it past my house and seals off the neighbourhood (albeit in a very good cause) until about noon. As is my custom, I've invited a few friends round to watch and share some refreshments . In the evening I'll watch the count on TV, expecting to see a Labor win, though being, like both Mr Howard and Mr Rudd, of a naturally conservative disposition, won't expect a landslide.

Search for HMAS Sydney to "begin early next year"

In breaking news The Age and news.com.au report that an "official" search for HMAS Sydney will begin "early next year".

Both reports are similar, suggesting that they are drawn from the same media release. Here's an extract from the news.com.au one:

The HMAS Sydney Search Foundation today announced it would begin looking for the vessel in January or February with $4.2 million in federal funding, $500,000 from the WA Government and $250,000 from the New South Wales Government.

HMAS Sydney Search director Ted Graham said about 1500 sq nautical miles of water off WA's northern coast would be searched, reaching depths of 2500-4500m.

"The scale and complexity involved in such a search is significant, Mr Graham said.

"However, advances in technology, exhaustive archival research and the recent increase in government funding for the search, provide our best chance yet of success in finding HMAS Sydney II."

The search will be coordinated by shipwreck hunter David Mearns, who found two legendary WWII vessels, HMS Hood and the German battleship Bismarck.

I shall await developments with interest.

Another fatal rail accident near Adelaide

Apart from the sadness of hearing that two people have been killed in a level crossing accident at Virginia it beggars belief that the level crossings in the area, after some recent incidents eg this accident in August are still not safe for both road and rail users.

The accident-prone line is a the main line, not a rarely used branch, so there is little excuse for not beefing up safety. Having said this, I'll wait to hear (and see) more.

Armistice Day

Anzac Day is Australia's principal day of acknowledgment of the sacrifices made by so many people in wartime, but I was pleased to see that the custom of two (or is it one ?) minutes' silence on Armistice Day was widely observed at eleven o'clock this morning.

When I was in the UK a fortnight ago I noticed people such as TV football commentators wearing poppies then, though here I only noticed them today on, among others, the Insiders panel and the Channel 9 cricket commentary team.

I'd be interested to know how widespread the Armistice Day observation is around the world. Is it still mainly confined to the "victors" of World War 1, or has it been taken up more widely?

Back in my backyard

A longer time than I intended between posts, but I hope to be a little more prolific from now on.

Views from London

As I type this highly civilised human beings are flying overhead waiting to land at Heathrow. ( Acknowledgement to George Orwell ).

I've enjoyed the last few days catching up with my family and reacquainting myself with some aspects of English/ London life. The grandchildren are pleased to see me, and the weather has been good: today there is barely a cloud in the sky, so I must go out and make the most of it.

Last night I saw the winner of the Booker Prize, The Gathering by Anne Enright announced live on the BBC TV News: can you imagine something like that happening in Australia?

There's plenty more I could write about but the sunny outdoors beckons. I've also taken many photos and will post a selection soon.

Matt Price

I'm sorry to read that doctors have discovered tumours in Matt Price's brain. I enjoy his ability to take the mickey out of politicians so hope that he makes a full recovery, and that during his treatment he's also able to continue to publish some pieces in his characteristic style.

Death in Afghanistan

An Australian soldier, Trooper David Pearce, has been killed on active service in Afghanistan. This is distressing, if hardly surprising, news given the tenor of reports emerging from that benighted country. The ADF has released a statement on behalf of the soldier's family . I also offer my condolences to his family, friends and comrades.

It will be interesting to see what, if any, impact the death has on Australian public opinion. While there is bipartisan support for the country's involvement in Afghanistan, the secrecy in which military operations have been shrouded together with the, until now, lack of fatalities have meant that most people know, and probably care, little about what is going on there. This may now change.

Jeff Sparrow in today's Crikey runs an eye over the situation and asks "just what do we hope to achieve?" Good question, and I wait for the government (and the opposition) to attempt an answer.

Unacknowledged war veteran turns 85

This is Ted, who lives in an aged care home near me and who turned 85 yesterday. His life has included war service in the Royal Marine band of HMS Exeter which was lost in the Battle of the Java Sea on 1 March 1942. Ted survived the sinking and spent the following three and a half years as a POW of the Japanese.

The band's war service has been outlined in an article written several years ago (as far as I can gather) by one of its members. The author hadn't heard of Ted since 1945 and asked anyone who knew his whereabouts to get in touch. I've tried to do so on Ted's behalf but am still waiting for a reply. Unfortunately British service records, at least for the Second World War, are not as accessible online as their Australian equivalents . It seems that a man who suffered considerably for his country is unlikely to have his contribution acknowledged or recorded for succeeding generations. In the Internet age there is little excuse for this.

That said, Ted is making the most of his life. He is mentally alert and is a familiar sight around the neighbourhood as he pushes his walking aid briskly to and from the shops: he always has a cheerful smile and friendly word for the many friends he's made in his time here. Even so, he's told me several times that he'd like to hear from any of his former shipmates (or fellow POWs). I will of course pass any messages on.

Brief mentions #2

# Mr Rudd for two terms?


On last night's 7.30 Report Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan, apart from fluffing her dates, appeared to suggest that Mr Rudd is seeking two terms:

Well, Kerry, anyone who knows the vaguest thing about this sort of technology knows that you start much before three months after an announcement. This has been going on pretty well since about 19... Sorry, 2005, and has been rolled out and been planned. Kevin Rudd popped up opportunistically out of the ground with a fantasy plan that's not going to be delivered, not only - forget 2009 - 2013? How many terms does Kevin Rudd think he's going to have in government? Seriously, I mean, that's not a broadband plan. If you're going to have to wait till 2013 to get broadband, you're not going to be able to do much with it.

Is this an emerging Coalition strategy: effectively admit that Labor will win the impending election but plan to limit them to one term?

# Excoriating stuff: Minister uses four syllable word on TV

On tonight's 7.30 Report Industrial relations Minister Joe Hockey said, apropos of some criticism levelled at him for criticising the bona fides of some union funded rersearchers "yet somehow I'm excoriated for my pointing out that these academics have had long-standing involvements with the union movement." In case people didn't know what he was talking about, his next sentence reverted to cliche: "I mean, what's good for the goose is good for the gander".

# Premier urged to " talk like rest of us" as he seeks new speechwriter and touches forelock to English royalty:

Interesting piece in Today's Advertiser/ Adelaide Now about Premier Rann being urged to stop sounding like Alexander Downer. Another article discusses Mr Rann's quest for a new speechwriter :

Applicants need the usual triumvirate of experience, exceptional writing skills and "a very sound understanding of government affairs, parliamentary and political processes".

A knowledge of the correct way to emphasise "the $6 billion air warfare destroyer contract" and "the state's mining boom" will, of course, be presumed.

But considering the raw material with which the applicant has to work, we make no apologies for suggesting one more essential quality. Soul.

For only a person with soul can look to a future of sustained economic growth for all South Australians.

Only a person with soul can appreciate this "all-time high in jobs, an equal all-time low in unemployment and an all-time high in private sector investment".

And only a person with soul can introduce the Treasurer to a room filled with Budget-hungry journalists and cause even the most battle-hardened cynic to shed a tear and applaud his fiscal brilliance.

If you have soul, if you can hear Mr Rann's dulcet tones shaping the future, please apply to Michele Virgo at virgo.michele@dpc.sa.gov.au. Think not what your state can do for you, but what you can do for Mr Rann.

Mr Rann has also been touching his forelock, or its contemporary equivalent, to the Duke of Kent , who is visiting SA (and slumming it by flying Qantas if this photo is accurate). HRH is here primarily to open an the Australian branch of The Royal Institution of Great Britain.

Third world rail system?

Last Thursday Adelaide commuters were, as the picture below shows , inconvenienced by a peak hour Noarlunga line train derailment just outside the Adelaide station . For reports see here and here.



The derailed Noarlunga bound train.

On Saturday The Advertiser published (not online) a letter from a passenger on the train who described the local railway system as of third world standard. IMO this is not an unfair comment as the system has been allowed to run down to the point where old rolling stock (see photo) and either decayed infrastructure or signalling or both impedes its smooth operation.


For example, see the photo below, which I took on 22 August this year. The window is typical of many on the rail cars: somehow the outer layer of glass/ plastic becomes corroded or scored and obscures passengers' ( not the driver's I hope) view. In the photo only a small portion of the window (on the right) is unaffected.

A view from TransAdelaide's window

I'm not aware that either Premier Rann or Transport Minister Conlon has commented, let alone apologised for or, radical thought, offered to upgrade the system (a plan for electrification would be nice) .

Update/ correction 2 October

There's a letter in today's Advertiser (not online) which refers to a comment about the derailment by Transport Minister Conlon: "accidents happen sometimes". The writer comments that this "is typical of the arrogant, pig-headed attitude of the state Labor Government. You were lucky this time, Mr Conlon. Next time, you may have blood on your hands." Strong words, but not unreasonable.

The sorrow of Burma

It's hard to imagine what's going on in Burma aka Myanmar but, thanks to the courage and determination of many people inside the country with the technology and internet access, we in the outside world have been kept reasonably well informed of developments.

At least until now. After holding their fire for a few days the government has moved both on the streets of Rangoon aka Yangon and in cyberspace. The international media, including the BBC , ABC and Al Jazeera , are trying to keep up with developments but it's becoming increasingly hard to do so, at least for the moment because the government has, or is trying to, cut off internet access to the outside world.

Some bloggers, such as ko-htike have been reporting from the virtual (and real) front line, but they too are now finding it hard to keep posting:


Burma time 14;28

Thousands of protester are on the street of YGN, now.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear All,

I sadly announce that the Burmese military junta has cut off the internet connection throughout the country. I therefore would not be able to feed in pictures of the brutality by the brutal Burmese military junta.

I will also try my best to feed in their demonic appetite of fear and paranoia by posting any pictures that I receive though other means (Journos!! please don’t ask me what other means would be??). I will continue to live with the motto that “if there is a will there is a way”.

We probably need to lobby the Chinese government or UN envoy to Burma to ask the junta to switch on the Internet. Please!

And this:

This ..... so, who is making violent.

Brief mentions

Marcel Marceau

The media reports about his death reminded me that I'd seen him perform many years ago.

The Guardian 's obituary was one of several good summaries of his life, while The Australian's tribute included an extremely succinct yet appropriate editorial: a vertically oriented :-( . For a photo see Boing Boing .

How would you fare at this interview?

Try these questions which have apparently been asked at Google job interviews. Some of the commenters have a crack at answering them, as do others at Times Online, where I first saw it mentioned.

Disappearing hyphens

The BBC (and others) report that in the latest edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary more than 16,000 words have been dehyphenated (or should that be de-hyphenated?) . Some changes result in two previously hyphenated words combined into one (eg pigeonhole) , while others have been separated into two (eg pot belly). I also think there's an element of catchup/ catch-up here: I can't recall ever seeing "pigeonhole" hyphenated".


Why the radical surgery? Largely because of, the SOED people claim, the proliferation of modern communication methods like email: though the BBC and a few other stick-in-the-muds are hanging on the traditional "e-mail", as you'll see if you read the link.

IVF produces unexpected consequences

Some forthright comments about the case currently before a court in Canberra. In today's Advertiser (not online) Ross Buckley (UNSW law professor) has a piece "Canberra case confirms the law is an ass" which among other things points out that such a claim would be permitted in other jurisdictions inc SA and NSW. Earlier The Australian had a trenchant editorial while Caroline Overington (herself the mother of twins) spoke her mind.

Bollywood comes to Poland

Try this (from Boing Boing) for something different.

Worth a few thousand words

In the last few days The Australian has published some interesting pictures, including

# John Howard ostensibly "adjusting his glasses" when facing Kevin Rudd in parliament. The photo has disappeared from The Oz's website but you can see it (minus Rudd) here.

# Peter Costello apparently reprising the gesture the next day: see here to compare both pictures.

# Most surprising of all, Bill Leak's cartoon on Saturday , of which this is a sample suitable for workplaces:

Get the full picture here (you may have to scroll through some other cartoons). Titled "The Booby Prize", it shows Mr Rudd in a gentlemen's club. The suited arm on his shoulder belongs to none other than Mr Murdoch, who is saying "Cheer up mate. Look! I've booked a stripper for your birthday...", to which the Leader of the Opposition replies "Yes, but I had my heart set on a tax policy...".

Is this the first time that Mr Murdoch has appeared in a cartoon in any of his newspapers?

Wikipedia notches 2 million English language articles... and the debate goes on.

The 2 millionth English language Wikipedia article has been posted: it's about a popular Spanish TV show (the one millionth was about a railway station in Glasgow) .

And this is only part of the story: the ABC informs us that the online encyclopedia now has over 8 million articles in a scarcely believable 250 languages.

This is a magnificent achievement and confirms that many people are willing to share their knowledge (and opinions) voluntarily for a common good, even if their goodwill and industry is diminished by the actions of some contributors who grind axes relentlessly or, for their own reasons, butcher the bona fide efforts of others.

To deal with the alleged vandals new methods of monitoring and regulating content are about to be implemented. The New Scientist reports

News of the plans came to light last August when Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales announced changes to the editing restrictions on the German-language version. However, implementing those changes turned out to be more difficult than anticipated and has still not happened. Now New Scientist has learned that Wikimedia plans to start the first trial of the changes this month.

The shift is a dramatic one for the encyclopedia. For now, edits to an entry can be made by any user and appear immediately to all readers. In the new version, only edits made by a separate class of "trusted" users will be instantly implemented.

To earn this trusted status, users will have to show some commitment to Wikipedia, by making 30 edits in 30 days, say. Other users will have to wait until a trusted editor has given the article a brief look, enough to confirm that the edit is not vandalism, before their changes can be viewed by readers.

This is sure to ease some readers' doubts. Most malicious edits involve crude acts of vandalism, such as the deletion of large chunks of text. Now such changes will rarely make it into articles.

These benefits will come at a price, though. New users could be deterred from participating, since they will lose the gratification that comes from seeing their edit instantly implemented. That could reduce the number of editors as well as creating a class system that divides frequent users from readers. The trusted editors, likely to number around 2000, may also find that articles are being changed too fast for them to monitor.

Not all versions of the encyclopedia will follow this route, says Erik Moller of the Wikimedia Foundation. While editors on the German version are happy with a hierarchy of contributors, the English editors favour a more egalitarian approach. So English readers are likely to continue to see the latest version of an entry, with a page that has been certified as vandalism-free by trusted editors available via a link.

For edits that are more subtly inaccurate, perhaps because they have been designed to promote an agenda, another tool is in store. It allows select groups of editors, probably associated with specific subject areas, to vote on whether an article should be flagged as high quality. Readers would still see the latest version of an article by default, but a link to a high-quality version, if it exists, would also be available.

As well as relying on trusted editors, Wikipedia's upgrade will involve automatically awarding trust ratings to chunks of text within a certain article. Moller says the new system is due to be incorporated into Wikipedia within the next two months, as an option for the different language communities.

The software that will do this, created by Luca de Alfaro and colleagues at the University of California, Santa Cruz, starts by assigning each Wikipedia contributor a trust rating using the encyclopedia's vast log of edits, which records every change to every article and the editor involved. Contributors whose edits tend to remain in place are awarded high trust ratings; those whose changes are quickly altered get a low score. The rationale is that if a change is useful and accurate, it is likely to remain intact during subsequent edits, but if it is inaccurate or malicious, it is likely to be changed. Therefore, users who make long-lasting edits are likely to be trustworthy. New users automatically start with a low rating.

The Australian via The Times also reports this. The Times has also printed an update:

Jimmy Wales said that changes to the online encyclopedia which meant it would now be overseen by a group of 'trusted editors' did not mean that ordinary users weren't free to edit the site, only that they had to have been registered for 4 days before making a change.

This would hopefully lead to a reduction in the number of high profile pages - such as George W. Bush's - that suffered from spontaneous vandalism, he said, as well as improve the reliability of the site, which has been shown to be untrustworthy on several occasions of late.

"There are no plans to restrict anybody's status," Mr Wales said. "Anyone can make an edit, but if the user hasn't been registered for at least 4 days, then it would have to be approved by someone who has been registered before going live."

Mr Wales acknowledged that Wikipedia's reliability had come into question following the discovery that some organisations, including political parties, had been tweaking their entries to improve their image.

But he dismissed the idea that the changes - which will initially only affect the German site - were a response to a planned competitor to Wikipedia, ' Citizendium', which will solicit entries from the public but be edited by a group of experts to root out inaccuracies.

Mr Wales said that it was Wikipedia's aim to "protect the public from goofballs doing bad things" whilst at the same time allowing the "spontaneous acts of goodwell", which were a valuable feature of the site.

I assume that "goodwell" should be "goodwill", but what would a Wikipedia article (or an article about Wikipedia) be without at least one typo?

I should also mention John Quiggin's recent post. Quiggin is a longstanding albeit not uncritical supporter of Wikipedia. What he says about the encyclopedia ( is it time to come up another word which describes the scope and now the scale of the enterprise?) is worth reading. Extract:

The most obvious change in the past eighteen months is the way attention has shifted from the extensive margin (more articles) to the intensive margin (work on existing articles, metacontent such as categorization and classification schemes, and internal process such as the development and enforcement of policies on biographies of living persons, prompted by embarrassments like the Siegenthaler hoax and by the increasing propensity of politicans and others to edit their own entries).

There’s a natural economic logic here. With two million entries already, the typical new entry (ignoring the many short-lived attempts such as this one) is going to be something like List of state leaders in 1390s BC or Kitaōji Station. The marginal benefit of adding an entry is declining, though certainly not zero. On the other hand, the demand for internal improvements builds on itself. A stroll through Wikipedia using the Random entry function shows that the great majority of entries are tagged as needing improvement of some kind.

This process of cumulative improvement is resource-intensive, but not nearly as much as the dialectical processes that operate for controversial entries (and on Wikipedia, anything and everything can be controversial). Edits are made, reverted, reverted, tagged as needing support or violating some Wikipolicy or other, until a single sentence can consume dozens of hours of work. Still, the result is often a drastic improvement in quality compared to a starting point in which one point of view or another is taken for granted. One obvious manifestation of this is the vast increase in referencing of claims, and the increasing pickiness of policy regarding sources for such claims. Blogs have been a particular victim, with only a handful of expert-written blogs being accepted as reliable sources on particular topics. Despite the merits of the process, it’s easy to get burned out defending an article like Global warming controversy against the sustained efforts of delusionists to include lengthy and uncritical presentations of their latest talking points.

One thing is clear though. Complaining about Wikipedia now is like complaining about the Internet. There isn’t going to be any alternative for quite some time to come.

I'm not (having myself made some extremely modest contributions to the genre) one of those who thinks that there are too many articles about railway stations, but I question the justification for entries like Port Road pub crawl, which have no substantial basis in fact (or more than one person's opinion) and are riddled with errors and omissions. As it stands today the article is a bag of chaff with a few grains (which could easily be transferred to other articles) scattered throughout.

Oh, and don't expect the Port Road pub crawl article to remain in its present form for long (and don't call me a vandal if I amend and rename it).

Two years on...

Two years ago today I dipped my toe in the water and began blogging. My first post was this , a photo of me in the outback. It's still on my front page.

Compared to many other bloggers I've not been very prolific (even if I've sometimes been prolix). Blogging has made me think about what I'm posting, and often whether to post: there are unpublished drafts which, thank goodness, only I can read. Some of my pieces, both drafts and those which see the light of cyberspace, are flimsy: maybe I should collect some of them occasionally in a cuttings or snippets series.

Enough self-indulgence for the moment. I need time to think about what to post next.