ODE TO WIKI-P*

*(An original poem with embedded links, based on an article about Wikipedia published in the New Yorker: Know it all, by Stacy Schiff. See also The Hive in the Atlantic Monthly by Marshall Poe. These were our reading assignments.)

They say it has a million. Britannica? One tenth.
The former lives on paper, the latter just pays rent.
With nary a commercial, how does it stay alive?
An army volunteers and feeds the hungry hive

“Bah!” elitists sigh, the masses – they do err
“Tu quoque,” comes the reply from e-screens ev’rywhere
Who knew of Wales in Huntsville, or Sanger’s history?
There, waiting for the rubbish, they founded Wiki–P

First there were six hundred, then twenty-thousand strong
Pandora’s box was opened, and so all tagged along
Doctor or dock worker, NPOV the rule
Citation sings just published things and Wiki was a tool

Electrons live in Flor’da, and yet are free to roam
From coast to coast, around the globe, where’er’r men call them home
But like the ‘lectrons ut’lized, Wik’pedians are discreet
Though day to day they make their way, they know not when they meet

Reverts and wily gnomes, do fight with surly trolls
To battle for the truth (and honor in their rolls)
And then came on the vandals which admins rose to meet
A thousand doing battle among the mighty fleet

Checkusers, now the Jedi – the fortnight fighting strong
With barnstars for the worthy and death threats from the throng
“No priv’lege for the knowing!” illuminati curse
Suspicion trumps true knowledge and goes from bad to worse

Once there was the World Book, and Hayek’s well-known tome
Cathedral and Bazaar? Nuped’ia? Where was home?
And so now ends the story. Postmodernity’s last line?
A fateful final question: is IT your truth or mine?