Talk:Cabot, Arkansas

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[edit] Truth about 'Cabot' article

So late one night when I was fed up with having to write a paper (sort of like tonight), I stumbled across Wikipedia, the 'free encyclopedia'. I had heard terrible things about it, including how anyone can add anything to the database (so it's only full of things that a few passionate computer literate geeks will enjoy, like pages and pages about "Klingon" and other Star Trek junk).... Citing from the internet at my university is an absolute 'no', and citing Wikipedia will get your grades marked down....

With all this said, I decided to test out the 'power of Wikipedia'. Late in April, i got on here, added a bunch of things about Cabot, most of them are true, some are deliberately false; all the true stuff are semi-accurate guesses from my memory (i haven't lived there since High School in 2000)... the point is, i want to see how long it takes before someone actually edits this and puts correct information, because I'm guessing no one ever will (the problem with Wikipedia -- there is no review, no 'grading'), so I fully expect to see whatever 'facts from memory' I put up on here in April '05 to still exist in its entirety years from now... ~Class of '00

• Ok, I'll bite. You took the time to express yourself, so I'll take some time to analyze the points you've made.

"only full of things that ... geeks will enjoy", um, no, although it certainly has more than its share of those. The recent main page article on Dalek for instance is geeky. Try Irish potato famine for a counterpoint.

"Citing from the Internet at my university is an absolute 'no', and citing Wikipedia will get your grades marked down...." Hmm, in general, uncritical use of the Internet is a very bad idea. So is uncritical fear of it. The whole university forbids it? I can see individual instructors doing it. I've written papers where any encyclopedia was forbidden. Primary references are best, after all. I don't think I'd use a Wikipedia article directly, but as a resource for getting started it would be quite useful, like Cliff's Notes used properly. As far as having a formal policy which punishes its use - why don't they just block Wikipedia on all of the school computers? Or tear out the Internet entirely? Or get rid of all of the computers? You see where this is going, I hope.

Your experience with Cabot, Arkansas is no surprise at all. Many Wikipedians doubt that anyone reads the little town articles, even though some of us have gone to some effort to get basic census data and maps for as many places as we can. Actually, Cabot with over 15,000 people (I got that from Wikipedia, by the way) isn't so small, but I suspect the number of domain experts for Cabot, Arkansas, who also read Wikipedia and would actually edit its article, is small. As in "zero" ... except for you, of course. I know nothing about Cabot, other than where it is on the map, so I can't fix it. Few could, and probably no one who's a current active contributor to the English Wikipedia can either. It might take months or years before somebody who cares enough to fix articles and knows enough about Cabot finds the article. On the other hand, I've seen articles changed in the same minute they were edited on Wikipedia. If a watcher knows about a subject where a change is made, the process can be very fast.

You are our Cabot, Arkansas expert. I hope that if you haven't already done so, you will remove all of the false things from the article that you put in as a test. Leave the things you remember to be true, even if your memory might not be perfect. Someone will come along some day and build on your efforts. Wikipedia is an experiment that some of us hope will yield, if not a permanently useful encyclopedia, at least some idea of how to do better encyclopedias in the future. Catbar (Brian Rock) 22:52, 25 May 2005 (UTC)

• Boy, your actions speak for themselves. Instead of adding helpful information, you chose to add falsehoods about your hometown (one which, I might add, gave you a lot of individual attention). Luckily, there's more than one expert on Cabot, Arkansas here. InvictaHOG 03:12, 22 October 2005 (UTC), CHS Class of 95

• I'm the guy from the top of this page. WOW... I must have touched a nerve. I've never been in an "internet flame war", so don't bother responding, because I doubt I'll check this page for another 18 months. Apparently the nameless internet users above me chastised me for "not helping the world" and "ruining their grand experiment where everyone can have a say and add their own information". Guess what? The whole 'anyone can edit' experiment already exists, and it has already failed -- it's called the WALL OF A BOYS' BATHROOM.

Seriously. That's accurate. Everyone uses it. Everyone gets a chance to have their say. Is your phone number listed? Oops, make an edit.

And Just like a bathroom stall wall, Wikipedia shares a few faults:

~Trivial - look at the page now.. so much info is UNIMPORTANT. If you were describing Cabot to a friend in 5 minutes, you probably wouldn't even mention most of the things in this article. I would be willing to bet in another 18 months we will see "LISTING OF ALL STOPLIGHT LOCATIONS IN CABOT" somewhere in this article.. is that really important?

~Wrong - ANYONE can enter information. Anyone can edit anytime, an unlimited # of times. And because of that, lots of the information is just plain wrong. Incorrect. People have made 'guesses' that just aren't right. And what about bias? What about a difference of opinion? Just wait until something newsworthy happens involving Cabot & some 'hot topic' like Politics or Religion.

~Lying - What about vandalizing? Can we all just stop for a minute and realize this is the INTERNET, and EVERYONE can read this page? How on earth could anyone think that all members of a town being able to write anything about anyone else at any time - -ANONYMOUSLY even-- could be a GOOD THING??? It would be so easy to list lies about someone on here over and over, ruining someone's career, ruining someone's life. People LIE ON THE INTERNET all the time. Don't think it happens? Go search for "hillary clinton", "george bush", or "israel" in wikipedia, and ask yourself why these pages are locked & protected from edits.

~Uncontrollable - How can you be assured that some teenage vandal won't go and write something bad, profane, or scandalous about you, a Cabot resident, on Wikipedia? The Wikipedia answer is "CHECK THAT PAGE OVER AND OVER". Ok, so assume I check it daily. But what if some kid vandalizes my name every hour? So do i check it hourly? Do i quit my job so that i can assure anytime someone googles my name, the first hit won't be some derogatory comment made by a 12 year old?

~Unavoidable - for the rest of your life, anytime anyone, anywhere, from any country/job/school/company/newsroom, searches for 'Cabot, Arkansas', this page will be in the top few results. Everytime. That might make you positively giddy, giving you a sense of power, but the reality is, wikipedia has to be right at the EXACT SECOND of a mouse click. If it's up for ONE SECOND, well, that's how long it takes for a mouse click. Pretty soon a lie--> repeated opinion--> information --> FACT. Only problem is the 'fact' would be about a real, living person in Cabot. A person that has a life, or had one, until some 13-year old tried to be funny.

Wikipedia is no better than the wall of a boys bathroom at Cabot High School... every point I just made applies to a stall at the football stadium just as much as wikipedia.

(...Actually, there is a difference. Someone is paid to periodically clean up & erase the bathroom wall.) ~Class of '00

I'm not sure what you're trying to prove. There is a page about Cabot, Arkansas on Wikipedia whether anyone likes it or not. It is one of the first hits on google. You chose to add nonsense to it. Others choose to make sure that nonsense is readily deleted and to attempt to add helpful information. Those adding nonsense can be blocked or banned by those who contribute in a positive way. You are free to debate the minds behind Wikipedia about its wisdom in multiple different forums on the internet and off-line, though the talk page of Cabot, Arkansas is not likely to attract their attention. If you'd like, I can direct you to various places within Wikipedia where contributors express concerns about the underlying stability of the project. Places to start include Wikipedia:Verifiability and Wikipedia:Citing sources. InvictaHOG 03:47, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

~Who are you?

Other than a "nameless internet user?" This is not the place for personal information but I can easily be reached by e-mail. As for your unvoiced question, I've known you since you were quite young. In the future, please sign your comments with ~~~~ to help make things less confusing. InvictaHOG 06:38, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

• Um, ok.... You sound like a myspace creep on a power trip. Have fun in 9th grade homeroom today. See ya.

[edit] Notable Residents

If you have a problem with the "Notable Residents" section please make your argument for its removal here rather than simply deleting it. Thanks! CarlyPalmer 05:21, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fire?

Should a section, or part of a section, be added about the Junior High North fire? It's all I'm hearing right now, as a Cabot resident, but I'm not sure if it's noteworthy enough. Thoughts? 207.119.206.164 07:56, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

There's already quite a bit about it under recent history. It probably doesn't need a who section of its own... InvictaHOG 12:23, 18 August 2006 (UTC)