Will you help me write the Fluther.com wikipedia page?
Asked by
jlm11f (
12416
)
June 2nd, 2009
I’ve been meaning to write this page over the summer. But since this site is really all about community, I thought this page should be written by the community too. Plus we haven’t had such an activity since the Fluther story.
So put on your creative writing caps and let’s create an article about this site! Now I will not be citing every sentence on the wiki page, but at the end of the article, I’ll link to this page mentioning that the article was a community effort written here. As for direction, think of it like you are introducing the site to a friend. What would you tell them about it? To give an idea of what would work for the article is that there could be a fluther memes section (frizzer, cake, pancakes). Then there could be a section about the community etc.
Some additional points:
I will try to incorporate as much of community contribution as possible, but repeat sentences or things that don’t flow with the rest of the document might not be added. Please don’t feel bad if that happens! Also, your sentence(s) do not have to be flowing with the previous quip. Each quip will be treated individually and put in the apt part of the article. Most importantly, just have fun with this!
Finally, I am pretty sure I am forgetting to tell you guys something, so let me know if you have questions. I am in a hurry right now and will be back in a few hours to look at the question.
I’ll start: Fluther.com beta was founded by Ben Finkel and Andrew McClain on Oct 15th, 2006. It became public in December of the same year.
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51 Answers
It has been monitored by the CIA ever since..
No offense of course, but good luck getting past the Wikipedia admins. They will likely cite this as first hand research and thus delete your article as first hand research is not allowed to be used there.
- mention the NYT article about the guys, and include a link (for reference)
– when referring to memes, include links to the questions in question that brought about those memes.
– mention the recent engagement that took place on Fluther.
– DON’T MENTION THE CIA (@whatthefluther)
– Give a real definition of the term Fluther and why it was chosen.
– Dig up some credible numbers on how many active users, etc.
– Mention the twitter feed, the flutherbot, etc.
But Fluther truly csme into its own on January 26th, 2008, when six year old child prodigy AstroChuck arrived at the scene. His inventive and thought-provocing queries captivated and amazed other members. His witty repartee amused and entertained all who were fortunate enough to read these penned gems. This addition alone is what would prove to be the website’s true awakening. Since this spectacular addition to the collective, Fluther has thrived and is considered the paramount question and answer site over all others on all the Internet.
What Is Fluther?
Fluther is more than a Q&A site. Its devotees have formed friendships. It has been the site of a marriage proposal and acceptance.
Fluther is not just a social networking site. It stays true to its primary goal of sharing knowledge and expertise among its users.
Fluther users have written and published a short story as a community, created visual art with a Fluther theme, and had multiple forays into the realm of poetry including limericks, haiku, and themed poetry.
Who Are Fluther Users?
The community of Fluther users spans the spectrum from young teenagers to retirees. While the primary concentration of users is in the United States, Flutherers or Flutherites (both terms are used) come from many countries around the world. They are straight, gay, lesbian, and transgender. Their politics range from very left to very right and all stops in between. The religious spectrum is similarly broad
Lurve (Fluther User Points)
Fluther users receive “lurve”, points, for posing what other users consider “Great Questions,” for psoting what other users considers “Great Answers,” for visiting the site two days in a row, for being added to another member’s “My Fluther,“and for joining.
Media Coverage of Fluther
Fluther answers have been sourced as input for an article on Huffington Post.
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@Marina- Great to see you’re back!
In regards to your wikipedia suggestion, I’m not mentioned even once so you might want to re-examine your entry. Other than that, great answer.
@AstroChuck we haven’t gotten to the “Unfortunate Incidents” section yet…
@eponymoushipster- You know, that really hurts. You might consider the fact that I’m just a six year old before you make such spiteful comments. :(
@AstroChuck if you’re 6, you’re in violation of the fluther terms of use. tsk. also, if you’re 6, you might want to check out Yahoo! Answers… :)
@AstroChuck You pretty much covered your paragraph well, my friend. You left out the hot in shorts part, but then with the six-year-old thing, it all starts to go a bit south.
Talk about lurve. Establish the fact that lurve is just a number and it need not be horded.
@dynamicduo First Hand information is allowed on wikipedia. I don’t know where you got your information. If the content comes from other references, it must be backed up, but if it is first hand knowledge, it is still acceptable.
Let’s get back on track (we have a wiki to write) -what was the second question?
The opening sentence should have the structure of a definition: Fluther is a <name the class of things to which it belongs> that <identify what distinguishes it from other members of the class>.
The article should be more factual than persuasive, more descriptive than rhapsodic. It should mention the purpose and the structure. History should include not only the founding but also a sketch of its evolution. Since part of what distinguishes it is the character of the interactivity, that should be mentioned. It’s important to note the lack of emphasis on competition—answers are not voted on, results are collaborative, points have meaning only as indicators of longevity and quantity and quality of contributions. We don’t create winners and losers.
We should emphasizes the fun and personal side only insofar as we do not contradict anything that is in the guidelines.
Grammar, punctuation, and spelling should be impeccable.
Don’t forget to mention the high-quality moderators! ;)
Flutherites are very loyal and are ready to gather with pitchforks and dictionaries if anyone crosses Ben or Andrew.
Some things to mention: NY times article, and there’s a timeline in a question I think rich asked which outlines the origins of the site.
You can mention what Fluther has been used for till now. For example, which topics have been hot ones, a little bit of statistics would help to explain its usage, e.g. questions on relationships, God, English language, Fluther site, computers, etc. are quite favoured.
Moreover, you can make friends, and get answers and/or opinions to your questions very quick (this is a plus point, you get immediate replies here, other sites are not so quick responsive).
And, warn them that this site is very addictive! :)
Can you count the number of flutherites as on date…?
And, users are from all around the world.
Number or percent of users in each countries/continents can be summarized.
Mention friendships and how they cross continents and age gaps :)
@cprevite good point. wai….you’re a dude! wow. that means you can mention i’m Ăbersexy to all the jellies. yay!
I figured I’d mention it before you did :^)
Mention something about the Fluther Story, of course. : )
And how Fluther is so much more than a Q&A site… it’s a community where friendships are formed, love is found, and connections are made.
…and that it’s more addictive than crack.
Six year old boys should not know about crack. That’s just wrong.
You could get some good tips from the Answerbag entry as well.
Update – Some people have been wondering what has been going on with this. To be perfectly honest – absolutely nothing. I have another Fluther project that I need to complete before I can even think about this. Once that’s done, I’ll write here again.
@PnL thanks for the update, don’t work too hard
@PnL Do not let epony write it. It would be full of sex and sex and.. well, um, maybe he could write it.
@PnL Maybe we could all write one and submit them to the Fluther Gods for review, and the best one gets a t-shirt AND a sticker.
@PnL- So let me get this straight. You want us to do your homework?
@PnL passive and lazy? ;)
Template, schemplate, Fluther broke the mold!
I wrote a small stub on wikipedia some time ago, but they took it to the vet. Still think there should be something about this site there.
please notify me if you post up “Fluther.com” on wiki.
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