Encyclopedia Dramatica

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Encyclopædia Dramatica
Official site logo
A screenshot of Encyclopædia Dramatica
URL encyclopediadramatica.com
Slogan In lulz we trust
Commercial? Yes
Type of site Satirical wiki
Registration Optional (required to edit pages)
Available language(s) English
Owner Sherrod DeGrippo1("Girlvinyl")
Launched December 9, 20042
Revenue Advertising and donations
Current status Active

Encyclopædia Dramatica is a website that catalogs and/or satirizes current events and themes, especially Internet-related ones. It has been described as a "snarky Wikipedia anti-fansite".3

The site is a wiki, running MediaWiki software,45 that primarily presents its subject matter in an irreverent, obtuse, politically incorrect6 and often abusive style,7 using links and cross references intentionally made to appear comprehensive, with copious use of obscene or shocking writings, drawings, photographs, and the like. Many articles are written in a satirical manner to upset those who take the content seriously; this practice of provoking people into an emotional response is known on the Internet as trolling.168 The emotional responses are then added to the articles, often in a derogatory or inflammatory manner, with the purpose of provoking further emotional response. The site claims that it is "[d]one in the spirit of Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary".2

Contents

Content

This wiki has been characterized as "an online compendium of troll humor and lore".1 Its articles relate to news, current events, gossip and other "drama" topics from across the web, utilize controversial article content, placement and correlation to portray the issues and reflect the variety of perspectives held by its editors regarding the subject matter covered.

Forums, fansites, Internet subculture, users of web services,3 and online catchphrases are satirized in a manner described variously as coarse, offensive and frequently obscene.691011 Articles at Encyclopædia Dramatica are notably critical of MySpace11 and administrators of Wikipedia.3

Media attention

The website received mainstream media attention after Jason Fortuny used Encyclopædia Dramatica to post photographs, e-mails and phone numbers from one hundred and seventy-six responses to a Craigslist advertisement he posted in 2006, in which he posed as a woman seeking sexual encounters with dominant men.145

Encyclopædia Dramatica has been cited as a reference on Internet culture by the print media publication the New Statesman,12 as well as the AlterNet,13 Language Log14 and Londonist weblogs.15 It has recently gained recognition as an authority on imageboard (especially 4chan) slang, culture and Internet memes by on-line magazines such as Wired.8716

The convergence of Project Chanology, specifically the anti-Scientology campaign, with Encyclopædia Dramatica was noted by technology journalist Julian Dibbell.17 Because the wiki is a central catalog for parody and satire of interesting things happening on the Internet,6 it has served as a place for members of Anonymous to mingle,61819 for purposes of keeping up with ever-changing lingo, understanding new memes and following the campaigns of others.18 In one such instance this awareness resulted in a cooperative effort to indict a man who may have solicited sex from minors,20 but journalist Ryan Singel has referred to the website as "the world's stupidest wiki",19 for reasons that include documented inside jokes by members of Anonymous about their harassment tactics and bravado.19

Awards

On December 16, 2008, Encyclopedia Dramatica beat out WikiHow and Wikipedia in the People's Choice Winners category for favorite wiki in Mashable's 2nd Annual Open Web Awards.21

References

  1. ^ a b c d Schwartz, Mattathias (3 August 2008). "Malwebolence", The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved on 1 August 2008. 
  2. ^ a b http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Encyclopedia_Dramatica:About Retrieved on 25 May 2008.
  3. ^ a b c Dee, Jonathan (2007-07-01). "All the News That’s Fit to Print Out", The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved on 17 May 2008. 
  4. ^ a b Chonin, Neva (2006-09-17). "Sex and the City", San Francisco Chronicle, Hearst Communications, pp. 20. Retrieved on 14 May 2008. 
  5. ^ a b "Privacy", Warren's Washington Internet Daily (2006-09-12). 
  6. ^ a b c d e Davies, Shaun (2008-05-08). "Critics point finger at satirical website". ninemsn. Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
  7. ^ a b Peckham, Charles (2008-02-01). "Encyclopedia Dramatica". Chico News & Review. Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
  8. ^ a b Dibbell, Julian (2008-01-18). "Mutilated Furries, Flying Phalluses: Put the Blame on Griefers, the Sociopaths of the Virtual World". Wired (San Francisco: Condé Nast Publications) (16.02). http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/magazine/16-02/mf_goons?currentPage=all. Retrieved on 17 May 2008. 
  9. ^ Douglas, Nick (2008-01-18). "What The Hell Are 4chan, ED, Something Awful, And 'b'?". Gawker.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
  10. ^ "2 Do: Monday, December 26", RedEye Edition, Chicago Tribune (2005-12-16), pp. p. 2. 
  11. ^ a b Mitchell, John (2006-05-20). "Megabits and Pieces: The latest teen hangout", North Adams Transcript. 
  12. ^ Hogge, Betty (2008-06-05). "A lesson in hai culture". The New Statesman. Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
  13. ^ Cassel, David (2007-03-08). "John Edwards' Virtual Attackers Unmasked". AlterNet. Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
  14. ^ Zimmer, Benjamin (2007-05-18). "Lol-lexicography". Language Log. Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
  15. ^ "Anonymous Protests Outside Scientology Sites". Londonist (2008-02-11). Retrieved on 2008-08-25.
  16. ^ Himmelein, Gerald (2008-02-28). "Das Trollparadies", c't, Heise Zeitschriften Verlag, pp. 100. 
  17. ^ Dibbell, Julian (2008-07-11). "Sympathy for the Griefer:MOOrape, Lulz cubes, and Other Lessons from the First 2 Decades of Online Sociopathy"., Madison, Wisconsin: Games, Learning and Society 4.0. Retrieved on 2008-07-11. 
  18. ^ a b Whipple, Tom (2008-06-20). "Scientology: the Anonymous protestors", Times Online. Retrieved on 20 June 2008. 
  19. ^ a b c Singel, Ryan (2008-09-19). "Palin Hacker Group's All-Time Greatest Hits". Retrieved on 2009-09-21.
  20. ^ Anonymous operation leads to pedophile conviction. Global Television Network.
  21. ^ Mashable Open Web Awards Winners, http://mashable.com/2008/12/16/open-web-awards-2-winners/, retrieved on 16 December 2008 

External links

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  • This page was last modified on 9 January 2009, at 01:27.

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