Usurper

Revision as of 19:27, 30 August 2004 by 142.177.103.156 (talk) (disambiguating the game - sort of)

A usurper is someone who takes over large public wikis for their own purposes. For instance, a project may be intended as a basis for translation, but, if the usurper would rather use it to indoctrinicate children in some point of view, they may usurp it and render it useless as a translation base - for instance, by removing any material outside of, or explaining, the cultural context. Or, a project may be intended as an encyclopedia, but if the usurper would rather it become a social club, they may revert or even delete encyclopedia edits for purposes of pleasing or supporting their friends. Ad hominem delete, developer override and sysop vandalism are the most severe symptoms of such usurpation - the inquisitor is seemingly also a related behaviour.

A good example of usurper censorship and the objections it leads to is the article this version of the article on Economics in the Wikipedia and w:User_talk:Jrincayc this subsequent objection by a non-usurper that the material was perfectly encyclopedic. Note that the usurper excuse/response is to:

  1. justify new ad hominem delete and ad hominem revert in terms of old ones - without providing any rationale for why such policies might be in effect
  2. list other friends in support, who have done the same thing recently
  3. warn that this group will be displeased if they are defied by restoring texts by their target, or any caretaker who seeks to simply undo their vandalism

Developer usurpation can involve actions that an ordinary sysop, who might disagree or change the sysop power structure, cannot undo. For instance, to block IP of entire ISPs simply to censor oen individual, using server administration methods rather than going through the regular software.

GodKing usurpation is simply standing by to let others do these things, and quietly approving or simply not taking action in support of those who try to act as caretakers.


Usurper is also "a fantasy game filled with fast-paced action, violence and untimely death. You can actually enter the game and go berserk straight away..." as many Wikipedia sysops do. - [1]

"You can choose to play as a lone-wolf adventurer/warrior who seek glory only for yourself, and care nothing for anyone else, or you can also form teams in which you and your comrades fight for each other." In other words factions, for "it is almost always better to have more than one to face those monsters."

"Completing the final challenge at the bottom of the huge mountain will reward you with immortalization in the chronicles. Your name will live on forever" for your magnificent trolling.

"It is important to note that in the dungeons, many strange creatures lurk around. Some will eventually approach you and offer different things. Your response will ultimately lead to either riches or to death..." For instance making friends with libel or outing or lying addicts can simply never pay off. Such people must be excluded permanently from your social network upon a first offense. They are habitual usurpers that can only drag the repute of your entire network ultimately down the drain (see also Wikimedia corruption for specific people who do this to Wikipedia).

"If you do not take pleasure from strolling down into the dungeons, there are other things to do. You can visit the Dormitory, where many of the characters take their rest. You can kick them out of their beds and challenge them for a fight, attempt to murder them while they sleep, or even try and steal their gold and/or healing potions while they sleep." However just enforcing the Sysop Vandal point of view and censoring the New Troll point of view is enough fun for most of the very worst people, who seem to think they are gaming:

"If we take another character like the troll, this creature can and should be played bad. To be vicious and commit evil deeds will raise the trolls darkness score, and eventually reward him. But it must be said that you can experiment with different combinations, nothing is totally predictable. If you want the ultimate killing machine, consider the choice of Troll as race, and Barbarian as class." Accordingly many trolls join anarchist factions.

"Also remember that every race and class has their own special abilities. The Gnoll has a poisoned bite" consisting of filed claims of GFDL violation.