Hi all, welcome back!
I got to edit Wikipedia today, which apparently is not very difficult. For the last week I’ve been figuring the ins and outs of our most collaborative knowledge-building website, Wikipedia. I made an account, edited my personal page (don’t go there, it is quite scarce of meaningful content.) After I put myself in the matrix, I decided to follow my professor’s assignment instructions and find a topic that I was knowledgeable on. I ended up choosing the page for Across the Spiderverse, the animated film sequel to Into the Spiderverse about Miles Morales and his supporting ensemble. The Wikipedia page is useful, well-written, and it includes the base of knowledge you would want to know in the film. It did not include a very minor bit of the plot where a character notifies someone of the villain’s entrance and whereabouts. While I am sure many people put aside that and assumed Spot (the villain) was just popping up everywhere, his entrance in that particular world was important due to the meta-narrative that had been established. The meta, well, it was a Lego Earth. This scene, on the Lego world (Earth-13122,) was animated by the 14 year old Preston Mutanga, along with a couple visuals provided by Sony Pictures Animation ( the hologram and the Spot.) You can see Preston’s story here, along with his channel where he makes a number of high-quality Lego animations. I thought that his contributions were an important part of the story and deserved to be recognized on the page for his audience and the film’s audience to enjoy. This experience was easy, too easy. After I found the edit I wanted to make, I added to the “Talk:” section of the wiki page, promptly getting no response from any contributors.
In fairness, I did not spend too long waiting for permission or questions. Hours later, I spent a couple of laborious minutes clicking the edit button and typing up the newest version of the website’s source. This was obviously not very difficult, I simply wrote a reason for my edit and clicked the minor post option in the box, and bam! There it was.
I became an editor, officially! Call me Editor Pandora, or Editor Peyton, though I’d prefer just prefer Peyton. My adventures on Wikipedia have taught me that I can turn an entire community upside-down. The problem with Wikipedia is the thing that makes it amazing, everyone can edit, learn, and change. I can make an impact on day one of being on Wikipedia. If it is drawn into question, anyone can see the citations on the bottom of the page, or the introduction of an element into the page. My citations were the same as you see on the page, the video of the Spot invading Lego Spider-Man’s world. Wikipedia can be sorted out as it’s own unique ecosystem outside any true consistent regulation. I could edit an article and not have it seen for months if it’s not already being monitored. I could also just have it edited back if it’s deemed unreliable or ridiculous. In any case, I still love Wikipedia for allowing us the ability to collaborate and make knowledge accessible. Thank you for reading and have a great day!
Goodnight!
-Peyton
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