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{| | {{ambox|type=notice|issue=This article has been heavily edited by users associated with the topic. It may not reflect a neutral point of view.|image=none}}{{POV}} | ||
{{Infobox website|name=ProleWiki<br><small>''"The proletarian encyclopedia"''</small>| | |||
! colspan="2" |type= | ! colspan="2" |type=Collaborative online encyclopedia, wiki | ||
|language_count= | |language_count=8<ref group="note">However, most of the site is available in English, with the other language versions scarcely receiving any edits or updates. Some versions of ProleWiki in different languages, such as the Chinese ProleWiki, have not been edited in over half-a-year.</ref>|founding_date=30 September 2020|founder=[https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Comrade:Forte Felipe Forte]||num_users=>200 (total)<br>~20 (active editors)|url=prolewiki.org|espoused_ideology=[[Marxism-Leninism]]<br>Support for [[Actually existing socialism|AES]]|logo=File:ProleWiki logo 2022 english.png |logo_size=256x256px|logo_caption=<small>Logo of English ProleWiki since 2022</small>|screenshot=File:ProleWiki frontpage 2023.png}} | ||
'''ProleWiki''' is a [[Marxist–Leninist]] collaborative encyclopedia founded in September 2020. It is based on the MediaWiki software.<ref name=":0">[https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/ProleWiki ProleWiki - ProleWiki]</ref> | |||
ProleWiki | ProleWiki spans several subjects, including information on history, current events, communist parties worldwide, and countries, as well as hosting a library of texts related to [[Marxism]]. The site is closely connected to the [[Lemmygrad]] community. ProleWiki is available in several languages, but is most active in English. | ||
ProleWiki's creation was inspired by [[Leftypedia]],<ref name=":2">[https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Leftypedia "Leftypedia"] (last updated 7 August 2023) ''ProleWiki'' | |||
''"Leftypedia is an online collaborative encyclopedia that inspired the creation of ProleWiki."''</ref> but both projects differ in their editorial line and general sphere of interest. | |||
==History== | ==History== | ||
The following is a timeline of major events and developments which have taken place on ProleWiki. | The following is a timeline of major events and developments which have taken place on ProleWiki. | ||
===Founding and early development (30 September 2020 – 24 November 2021)=== | ===Founding and early development (30 September 2020 – 24 November 2021)=== | ||
ProleWiki was founded on 30 September | ProleWiki was founded on 30 September 2020 by a user who went by the name of Felipe Forte, as well as other users of the internet forum Lemmygrad. The initial concept for ProleWiki originated as a reaction to the [[Liberalism|liberal]] bias found on [[Wikipedia]]. The then-sole administrator of ProleWiki, Forte would firstly attempt to attract editors via promoting the project on Lemmygrad as well as various Telegram groups and Discord server. The website faced several spam bot attacks and eventually established an "account request" system.<ref>[https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Special:RequestAccount Account request] page on English ProleWiki</ref> | ||
The site was able to enjoy a spike of editors and general activity in the first few weeks of its existence, which prompted then sole administrator Forte to invite most editors into an administrative group.<ref>[https://en.prolewiki.org/index.php?title=Special:Log&offset=&limit=500&type=rights&user=&page=&wpdate=&tagfilter=&subtype= User rights log] ''ProleWiki''</ref> However, this strategy did not work out because of absenteeism and eventual lack of interest in the project from most of this first wave of editors. Eventually, the administration shrunk down to just those who continued to work in the project – CriticalResist, Jucheguevara and Andassol. This action was done in order to ensure ProleWiki would have a stable and effective administration. Andassol eventually left the administration in 2021 due to a busy schedule. | |||
===Ideological conflicts on patriotic socialism (1 August 2022 – 27 September 2022)=== | |||
The internal condition of ProleWiki would remain relatively stable for most of early-to-mid 2022, with few notable conflicts within the editorship or administration, This status quo would be upset in August 2022 when the inevitable creation of the page on [[Patriotic Socialism]] happened. The page noted Patriotic Socialism (with regards to the pseudo-socialist chauvinist ideology found in the United States of America) as being opportunist and revisionist. However, a few members of ProleWiki were Patriotic Socialist, including then-administrator Jucheguevara, and a conflict would start between the (very few) Patriotic Socialist and non-Patriotic Socialist elements within ProleWiki. | |||
This conflict would result in the non-Patriotic Socialists attaining ideological victory over the Patriotic Socialist elements, with the anti-Patriotic Socialist viewpoint of the article persisting and relative peace would remain in regards to that article. A month after the initial conflict, in September, the administration was contacted anonymously with a tip that Jucheguevara conspired with the Infrared collective to make accounts on ProleWiki under false pretences so as to push a patriotic socialist agenda on the wiki. | |||
Following this revelation (and confirmation of the claim), Jucheguevara was banned on 27 September 2022. He was stripped of his powers as an administrator and his account banned from the project.<ref name=":9">[https://lemmygrad.ml/post/391777 "Jucheguevara has been removed from administrative positions"], by ProleWiki administrator Forte (27 September 2022) ''Lemmygrad''</ref> | |||
===Banning of Wisconcom (28 September 2022 – 23 October 2022)=== | |||
{{POV}} | |||
[[File:Wisc screenshot thermonuclear.png|right|500px]] | |||
In June 2022, a user by the name of [https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Comrade:Wisconcom Wisconcom], who self-identified as a [[Hoxhaist]], would join ProleWiki and began to protest the encyclopedia's stance on [[China]] and [[market socialism]] in August of that year.<ref name=":6">[https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Topic:X1agp9ljig0tt2cj Topic on Talk:Market "Socialism" is Capitalism] by Wisconcom (15 August 2022) ''ProleWiki''</ref> After weeks of an incessant ideological conflict within the editorship, the administrators first gave Wisconcom a moratorium to essentially stop discussing or editing topics related to China. Wisconcom was sometimes insulting or being disrespectful to other comrades in the editorship. | |||
While this would permit some internal peace to develop within ProleWiki, ideological disputes would soon develop. After being warned multiple times about his behavior, Wisconcom claimed he "retired" and left the project of his own accord, but returned three days later along with a petition demanding extended user rights over ProleWiki. The administration rejected this petition as they deemed Wisconcom had not earned such privileges through his mere 5 months of being with the project, and further believed him too unstable for such a position due to the combative behaviour he exhibited several times both on Lemmygrad and ProleWiki.<ref name=":3">[https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Topic:X5jt5fmceilpdixv On the blocking of Wisconcom] by ProleWiki administrator Forte (23 October 2022) ''ProleWiki''</ref> Following a few more lengthy discussions about the petition, the administration would proceed to ban Wisconcom from the project due to the total breakdown of any possible dialogue and his past behaviour towards other users. | |||
Following this ban, Wisconcom would start harassing<ref>[https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Topic:Xazpux7scndkgz6r Topic titled "More bullshit with Wisconcom", Comradeship:Forte, at ProleWiki]</ref><ref name="hexbear wisc 1">[https://www.hexbear.net/post/249519 Since November 2022, a very committed "anti-revisionist" has been trying to infiltrate and smear the name of Prolewiki online], by CriticalResist on Hexbear.</ref> the ProleWiki administrators and some individual editors, along with releasing articles<ref name="hexbear wisc 1" />{{Better source needed|date=September 2023}}<ref>[https://wisconcom.substack.com/p/on-prolewiki ''On ProleWiki''] (13 November 2022) ''wisconcom.substack.com''</ref> heavily criticizing the site and its community {{cns|with fabrications.}} This is the reason this individual and his subsequent ban are noteworthy in the history of ProleWiki. | |||
After being blocked from editing ProleWiki, Wisconcom began making motivated edits to Leftypedia in January 2023 under several sock-puppet accounts, including revisions and deletions of articles related to the People's Republic of China, ProleWiki, Lemmygrad, and InfraWiki. | |||
== Ideology == | |||
ProleWiki officially adheres to [[Marxism–Leninism]]. The site maintains at least critical support of [[actually existing socialism|actually existing socialist]] countries, and views China, [[Laos]], [[Vietnam]], [[Republic of Cuba|Cuba]], and the [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea|DPRK]] as [[dictatorships of the proletariat]] and use the term "[[actually existing socialism]]".<ref>[https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/ProleWiki:Principles Working Principles of ProleWiki]</ref> | |||
== Comparison with Leftypedia == | |||
Although Leftypedia and ProleWiki have similarities, and ProleWiki's creation was inspired by Leftypedia,<ref name=":2" /> both projects diverge in major ways. For example, ProleWiki follows a specific editorial line based on a form of Marxism–Leninism which supports states which they consider to be [[actually existing socialism]]. While ProleWiki prioritizes the history and practice of [[Socialist state|socialist experiments]], particularly the five modern states that they hold to be AES, Leftypedia allows for other [[Leftism|left-wing]] tendencies to join and participate. Leftypedia also has a much broader scope, with emphasis on topics like [[history]] and [[historical materialism]], [[Marxist economics]], global politics, liberal propaganda, as well as spaces for [[:Category:Essays|original discourse]], [[praxis]], and other topics that are practical to [[Proletariat|the modern working class]]. | |||
== Structure == | |||
=== Administration === | |||
In its founding in 2020, ProleWiki functioned under the leadership of its founder and current administrator, Felipe Forte, but currently is also managed by CriticalResist. Since late 2022, the administrators represent an organ of decision making as well as of guidance towards the established goals of ProleWiki. The editors, once their account has been approved and as soon as they join the project, can request internal referenda and vote on them. Editors are often solicited to vote on new editor applications as well as get involved in the project. | |||
For example, since February 2022 ProleWiki holds a book club that is entirely managed by an editor. This structure of "work groups" allows ProleWiki to rely on its 100% volunteer base (both in the editors and administrators) to help grow and maintain the project by letting them volunteer their time and effort in projects they enjoy. This eases the workload on the administration and lets it act more like a guide or auditor to make sure the principles of ProleWiki, as well as its mission statement, are still being followed. | |||
=== Ties with external forums and communities === | |||
The ProleWiki administration has connections with ideologically aligned communities on the internet, which most prominently include Lemmygrad (from which both of the two ProleWiki administrators, Forte and CriticalResist, hold moderatorship on that site<ref>[https://lemmygrad.ml/ Lemmygrad]</ref>). ProleWiki also maintains some links with communist content creators on Twitter. | |||
== Criticism == | |||
===Stance towards Maoism and Hoxhaism=== | |||
ProleWiki, as a pro-AES (Actually Existing Socialism) encyclopedia, rejects the concept of [[social-imperialism]],<ref name=":103">[https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Social-imperialism ProleWiki - Social-imperialism]</ref> and further claims that [[Marxism–Leninism–Maoism|Maoism]] and Hoxhaism are [[revisionist]] tendencies which they compare to [[Trotskyism]].<ref>[https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/ProleWiki:Before_you_can_edit Before you can edit this page...] ''ProleWiki''</ref> | |||
=== Disregard for the proletariat in AES countries === | |||
ProleWiki arguably neglects to document the exploitation of the [[working class]] in countries they consider to be AES states. While documenting the economic exploitation of the workers in [[Western]] countries, they seldom do so of the East Asian countries of, for example, China. ProleWiki explains this by applying the theory of a [[Second Cold War]] between the [[United States]] and China. Under this model and learning from the [[praxis]] of communists that lived through the first [[Cold War]], ProleWiki holds that when communists publicly criticise socialist countries, they are not giving a nuanced analysis but are adding arguments to the arsenal of [[anti-communist]]s. | |||
===Anti-psychiatry page=== | |||
In 2021, an editor by the name of AmicChan joined the project and wrote about many topics, with much of those edits going into a page about anti-psychiatry that they had made.<ref name=":1">[https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Psychiatry ProleWiki - Psychiatry]</ref> This gave rise to a large debate between the editorship as well as the administration, as one side did not want ProleWiki to be seen as an anti-science outlet, while others were open to the idea that communists should question psychiatry as well as document its abuses under capitalism. | |||
Eventually, a productive dialogue was established and the page was split into two, with one documenting Psychiatry<ref name=":1" /> and another documenting the movement of anti-psychiatry.<ref>[https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Anti-psychiatry ProleWiki - Anti-psychiatry]</ref> Furthermore, a notice was added on the Psychiatry page to explain that the article was undergoing "an ideological dispute over its content" and one should "establish a consensus with comrades before making edits". After these two resolutions, neutrality was brought back to the page and after which ProleWiki has not received any more criticism on this page. | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*[[Lemmygrad]] | *[[Lemmygrad]] | ||
*[[Friends of Socialist China]] | *[[Friends of Socialist China]] | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references /> | <references /> | ||
=== Notes === | |||
<references group="note"/> | |||
[[Category:leftist wikis]] | |||
[[Category:Marxist websites]] | |||
[[Category: | |||
[[Category: | |||
Latest revision as of 13:28, 23 April 2024
 | This article has been heavily edited by users associated with the topic. It may not reflect a neutral point of view. |
 | The neutrality of this article is disputed. It may have a tendency-based slant, or may not incorporate all points of view on a subject. You can help by adding more perspectives. |
ProleWiki "The proletarian encyclopedia" | |
|---|---|
 Logo of English ProleWiki since 2022 | |
 | |
| Type | Collaborative online encyclopedia, wiki |
| Available in | 8[note 1] languages |
| Founded | 30 September 2020 |
| Founder | Felipe Forte |
| Users |
>200 (total) ~20 (active editors) |
| Espoused ideology |
Marxism-Leninism Support for AES |
| URL | prolewiki.org |
ProleWiki is a Marxist–Leninist collaborative encyclopedia founded in September 2020. It is based on the MediaWiki software.[1]
ProleWiki spans several subjects, including information on history, current events, communist parties worldwide, and countries, as well as hosting a library of texts related to Marxism. The site is closely connected to the Lemmygrad community. ProleWiki is available in several languages, but is most active in English.
ProleWiki's creation was inspired by Leftypedia,[2] but both projects differ in their editorial line and general sphere of interest.
History
The following is a timeline of major events and developments which have taken place on ProleWiki.
Founding and early development (30 September 2020 – 24 November 2021)
ProleWiki was founded on 30 September 2020 by a user who went by the name of Felipe Forte, as well as other users of the internet forum Lemmygrad. The initial concept for ProleWiki originated as a reaction to the liberal bias found on Wikipedia. The then-sole administrator of ProleWiki, Forte would firstly attempt to attract editors via promoting the project on Lemmygrad as well as various Telegram groups and Discord server. The website faced several spam bot attacks and eventually established an "account request" system.[3]
The site was able to enjoy a spike of editors and general activity in the first few weeks of its existence, which prompted then sole administrator Forte to invite most editors into an administrative group.[4] However, this strategy did not work out because of absenteeism and eventual lack of interest in the project from most of this first wave of editors. Eventually, the administration shrunk down to just those who continued to work in the project – CriticalResist, Jucheguevara and Andassol. This action was done in order to ensure ProleWiki would have a stable and effective administration. Andassol eventually left the administration in 2021 due to a busy schedule.
Ideological conflicts on patriotic socialism (1 August 2022 – 27 September 2022)
The internal condition of ProleWiki would remain relatively stable for most of early-to-mid 2022, with few notable conflicts within the editorship or administration, This status quo would be upset in August 2022 when the inevitable creation of the page on Patriotic Socialism happened. The page noted Patriotic Socialism (with regards to the pseudo-socialist chauvinist ideology found in the United States of America) as being opportunist and revisionist. However, a few members of ProleWiki were Patriotic Socialist, including then-administrator Jucheguevara, and a conflict would start between the (very few) Patriotic Socialist and non-Patriotic Socialist elements within ProleWiki.
This conflict would result in the non-Patriotic Socialists attaining ideological victory over the Patriotic Socialist elements, with the anti-Patriotic Socialist viewpoint of the article persisting and relative peace would remain in regards to that article. A month after the initial conflict, in September, the administration was contacted anonymously with a tip that Jucheguevara conspired with the Infrared collective to make accounts on ProleWiki under false pretences so as to push a patriotic socialist agenda on the wiki.
Following this revelation (and confirmation of the claim), Jucheguevara was banned on 27 September 2022. He was stripped of his powers as an administrator and his account banned from the project.[5]
Banning of Wisconcom (28 September 2022 – 23 October 2022)
| The neutrality of this article is disputed. It may have a tendency-based slant, or may not incorporate all points of view on a subject. You can help by adding more perspectives. |
In June 2022, a user by the name of Wisconcom, who self-identified as a Hoxhaist, would join ProleWiki and began to protest the encyclopedia's stance on China and market socialism in August of that year.[6] After weeks of an incessant ideological conflict within the editorship, the administrators first gave Wisconcom a moratorium to essentially stop discussing or editing topics related to China. Wisconcom was sometimes insulting or being disrespectful to other comrades in the editorship.
While this would permit some internal peace to develop within ProleWiki, ideological disputes would soon develop. After being warned multiple times about his behavior, Wisconcom claimed he "retired" and left the project of his own accord, but returned three days later along with a petition demanding extended user rights over ProleWiki. The administration rejected this petition as they deemed Wisconcom had not earned such privileges through his mere 5 months of being with the project, and further believed him too unstable for such a position due to the combative behaviour he exhibited several times both on Lemmygrad and ProleWiki.[7] Following a few more lengthy discussions about the petition, the administration would proceed to ban Wisconcom from the project due to the total breakdown of any possible dialogue and his past behaviour towards other users.
Following this ban, Wisconcom would start harassing[8][9] the ProleWiki administrators and some individual editors, along with releasing articles[9][better source needed][10] heavily criticizing the site and its community with fabrications.[citation needed] This is the reason this individual and his subsequent ban are noteworthy in the history of ProleWiki.
After being blocked from editing ProleWiki, Wisconcom began making motivated edits to Leftypedia in January 2023 under several sock-puppet accounts, including revisions and deletions of articles related to the People's Republic of China, ProleWiki, Lemmygrad, and InfraWiki.
Ideology
ProleWiki officially adheres to Marxism–Leninism. The site maintains at least critical support of actually existing socialist countries, and views China, Laos, Vietnam, Cuba, and the DPRK as dictatorships of the proletariat and use the term "actually existing socialism".[11]
Comparison with Leftypedia
Although Leftypedia and ProleWiki have similarities, and ProleWiki's creation was inspired by Leftypedia,[2] both projects diverge in major ways. For example, ProleWiki follows a specific editorial line based on a form of Marxism–Leninism which supports states which they consider to be actually existing socialism. While ProleWiki prioritizes the history and practice of socialist experiments, particularly the five modern states that they hold to be AES, Leftypedia allows for other left-wing tendencies to join and participate. Leftypedia also has a much broader scope, with emphasis on topics like history and historical materialism, Marxist economics, global politics, liberal propaganda, as well as spaces for original discourse, praxis, and other topics that are practical to the modern working class.
Structure
Administration
In its founding in 2020, ProleWiki functioned under the leadership of its founder and current administrator, Felipe Forte, but currently is also managed by CriticalResist. Since late 2022, the administrators represent an organ of decision making as well as of guidance towards the established goals of ProleWiki. The editors, once their account has been approved and as soon as they join the project, can request internal referenda and vote on them. Editors are often solicited to vote on new editor applications as well as get involved in the project.
For example, since February 2022 ProleWiki holds a book club that is entirely managed by an editor. This structure of "work groups" allows ProleWiki to rely on its 100% volunteer base (both in the editors and administrators) to help grow and maintain the project by letting them volunteer their time and effort in projects they enjoy. This eases the workload on the administration and lets it act more like a guide or auditor to make sure the principles of ProleWiki, as well as its mission statement, are still being followed.
Ties with external forums and communities
The ProleWiki administration has connections with ideologically aligned communities on the internet, which most prominently include Lemmygrad (from which both of the two ProleWiki administrators, Forte and CriticalResist, hold moderatorship on that site[12]). ProleWiki also maintains some links with communist content creators on Twitter.
Criticism
Stance towards Maoism and Hoxhaism
ProleWiki, as a pro-AES (Actually Existing Socialism) encyclopedia, rejects the concept of social-imperialism,[13] and further claims that Maoism and Hoxhaism are revisionist tendencies which they compare to Trotskyism.[14]
Disregard for the proletariat in AES countries
ProleWiki arguably neglects to document the exploitation of the working class in countries they consider to be AES states. While documenting the economic exploitation of the workers in Western countries, they seldom do so of the East Asian countries of, for example, China. ProleWiki explains this by applying the theory of a Second Cold War between the United States and China. Under this model and learning from the praxis of communists that lived through the first Cold War, ProleWiki holds that when communists publicly criticise socialist countries, they are not giving a nuanced analysis but are adding arguments to the arsenal of anti-communists.
Anti-psychiatry page
In 2021, an editor by the name of AmicChan joined the project and wrote about many topics, with much of those edits going into a page about anti-psychiatry that they had made.[15] This gave rise to a large debate between the editorship as well as the administration, as one side did not want ProleWiki to be seen as an anti-science outlet, while others were open to the idea that communists should question psychiatry as well as document its abuses under capitalism.
Eventually, a productive dialogue was established and the page was split into two, with one documenting Psychiatry[15] and another documenting the movement of anti-psychiatry.[16] Furthermore, a notice was added on the Psychiatry page to explain that the article was undergoing "an ideological dispute over its content" and one should "establish a consensus with comrades before making edits". After these two resolutions, neutrality was brought back to the page and after which ProleWiki has not received any more criticism on this page.
See also
References
- ↑ ProleWiki - ProleWiki
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Leftypedia" (last updated 7 August 2023) ProleWiki "Leftypedia is an online collaborative encyclopedia that inspired the creation of ProleWiki."
- ↑ Account request page on English ProleWiki
- ↑ User rights log ProleWiki
- ↑ "Jucheguevara has been removed from administrative positions", by ProleWiki administrator Forte (27 September 2022) Lemmygrad
- ↑ Topic on Talk:Market "Socialism" is Capitalism by Wisconcom (15 August 2022) ProleWiki
- ↑ On the blocking of Wisconcom by ProleWiki administrator Forte (23 October 2022) ProleWiki
- ↑ Topic titled "More bullshit with Wisconcom", Comradeship:Forte, at ProleWiki
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Since November 2022, a very committed "anti-revisionist" has been trying to infiltrate and smear the name of Prolewiki online, by CriticalResist on Hexbear.
- ↑ On ProleWiki (13 November 2022) wisconcom.substack.com
- ↑ Working Principles of ProleWiki
- ↑ Lemmygrad
- ↑ ProleWiki - Social-imperialism
- ↑ Before you can edit this page... ProleWiki
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 ProleWiki - Psychiatry
- ↑ ProleWiki - Anti-psychiatry
Notes
- ↑ However, most of the site is available in English, with the other language versions scarcely receiving any edits or updates. Some versions of ProleWiki in different languages, such as the Chinese ProleWiki, have not been edited in over half-a-year.