From RationalWiki
This article reviews Conservapedia's June 23 attempt at breaking the record of articles created per day. Andy made this announcement on the Main Page, saying that he wanted to break the articles-per-day record. This caused me to look into things. The result shocked even me.
[edit] An important note before I go on
This analysis is not complete. I did not check each and every article. However, all articles in the table that have a comment were checked by me. So far, I focused on Deborah, Crocoite and Andy - three sysops with clear copying patterns who contributed more than 50% of all articles on that day.
If you notice another pattern (or simply more copying or so), please feel free to say so on the Talk page. My quick checks told me that many of the uncommented articles are simply (very) short stubs, with the occasional okay article thrown in.
This means that the stats and observations can basically only get worse than they already are (see bottom), unless I made a serious mistake when looking things up (which I doubt).
[edit] What is the record?
According to the announcement of the June 24 attempt, the record is 225 articles. Assuming some intellectual honesty, this means 225 articles in a 24 hour span, starting at midnight NYC time - the conditions this attempt followed.
It is not known if this is actually the real record. I'm not sure if it's easy to verify it, actually. Neither do I know what the record's date is.
[edit] How do you measure new page creations?
One of the few remaining Special Pages is Newpages, which lists the last x page creations. This page strikes me as the most intuitive way of measuring page creations over time, so I assume that Andy used it, too. The default setting is for mainspace articles only. This excludes things like the Conservapedia namespace, User pages, or the various talk pages.
I assume that it also omits redirects, but I have not yet tested this. For the sake of this analysis, I assume that none of the articles are redirects. This is an assumption that works in favor of CP since it implies that all articles are actually filled with some content.
The log is in the local timezone you set in your Preferences, just like the other logs. This means that the table below does not start and end with "0:00", but rather has a six hour timezone shift (NYC -> Germany). So "6:00" in the table is "0:00 NYC Time". If you want to verify this shift, simply check the history of any of the articles below and compare the times.
Andy later claimed that 217 entries had been created. From this, I assume that he counts the three articles that were created close to the midnight deadline (two at midnight, one at 0:01). I will give him the benefit of this small window-shift and included the articles in question in the table, thus ending up at 217 entries (created between 0:02 on June 23 and 0:01 on June 24), too.
[edit] How to read the table
This table is a simplified version of the log. It simply lists date/time, article name, article creator, and my comments. The comments are more or less straight to the point, but to avoid confusion:
- Copy
- A 1:1 copy of the source linked by this word. This factors in trivial rephrases (like "we" to "they", or simple rephrasings of the intro sentence to adapt the common wiki style of "A <subject> is...")
- Copy (with minor rephrasing)
- This is a 1:1 copy, but with a few small changes (other than the ones mentioned above) somewhere in the text. It's still clearly recognizable as a copy, though.
- Copy (Link to source as ref only)
- Same as "Copy", but the source is linked as a reference at the end. It's a weird middle ground between shameless copying and sorta kinda admitting it came from somewhere else. The casual reader (who doesn't check the source) will not realize that the article is a 1:1 copy.
- Index
- An extremely simple page that usually only lists a template (which in turn links to similar pages) and sometimes one or two articles. Normally covered by Categories, but this way, you get at least 26 new articles per subject.
- "Inspired"
- I wanted to mark this as "Copy" since the source is clear, but the content is so minimal and has been rephrased a bit that it could almost count as own effort.
[edit] The table
| #
| Time
| Article
| User
| Notes
|
| 1.
| 06:01, 24 June | Turbine | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 2.
| 06:00, 24 June | Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 3.
| 06:00, 24 June | Transmitting utility | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 4.
| 05:59, 24 June | Topping cycle | Aschlafly | Copy (with senseless grammar) Fixed.
|
| 5.
| 05:59, 24 June | Toluene | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 6.
| 05:58, 24 June | Thermosiphon system | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 7.
| 05:57, 24 June | Thermal resistance | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 8.
| 05:56, 24 June | Thermal efficiency | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 9.
| 05:55, 24 June | Thermal cracking | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 10.
| 05:55, 24 June | United States Department of Agriculture | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 11.
| 05:55, 24 June | Therm | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 12.
| 05:54, 24 June | Tall oil | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 13.
| 05:53, 24 June | Tailings | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 14.
| 05:52, 24 June | Dennis Ritchie | Aschlafly |
|
| 15.
| 05:52, 24 June | Gulf of Finland | Bohdan |
|
| 16.
| 05:51, 24 June | Cost of capital | Rexislexis |
|
| 17.
| 05:50, 24 June | Crazy eights | DanH |
|
| 18.
| 05:50, 24 June | Agricultural Research Service | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 19.
| 05:47, 24 June | Capital risk | Aschlafly |
|
| 20.
| 05:46, 24 June | Dolly Madison | DanH |
|
| 21.
| 05:46, 24 June | University of Rhode Island | Rexislexis |
|
| 22.
| 05:46, 24 June | Agricultural Marketing Service | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 23.
| 05:43, 24 June | Swamp coolers | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 24.
| 05:43, 24 June | Helsinki | Bohdan |
|
| 25.
| 05:42, 24 June | Switching station | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 26.
| 05:41, 24 June | Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 27.
| 05:41, 24 June | Alan Simpson | Aschlafly |
|
| 28.
| 05:39, 24 June | Annihilationism | DanH |
|
| 29.
| 05:38, 24 June | Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 30.
| 05:37, 24 June | Savannah | DanH |
|
| 31.
| 05:35, 24 June | Surface rights | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 32.
| 05:34, 24 June | Auger machine | Aschlafly | Copy (Under "Surface mining equipment")
|
| 33.
| 05:34, 24 June | United States African Development Foundation | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 34.
| 05:34, 24 June | Surface mine | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 35.
| 05:33, 24 June | Superconductivity | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 36.
| 05:31, 24 June | Sulfur hexafluoride | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 37.
| 05:29, 24 June | Option | Aschlafly |
|
| 38.
| 05:29, 24 June | Advisory Council on Historic Preservation | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 39.
| 05:26, 24 June | Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 40.
| 05:22, 24 June | Administrative Committee of the Federal Register | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 41.
| 05:18, 24 June | Administration on Developmental Disabilities | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 42.
| 05:17, 24 June | Candida albicans | Rexislexis |
|
| 43.
| 05:13, 24 June | Administration on Aging | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 44.
| 05:13, 24 June | Tallinn | Bohdan |
|
| 45.
| 05:12, 24 June | Subbituminous coal | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 46.
| 05:11, 24 June | Strip mining | Aschlafly | Copy (with minor addition)
|
| 47.
| 05:09, 24 June | Strip mine | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 48.
| 05:08, 24 June | Strategic Petroleum Reserve | Aschlafly | Copy (with minor rephrasing)
|
| 49.
| 05:08, 24 June | Falun Gong | Hojimachong |
|
| 50.
| 05:07, 24 June | John Barrasso | Aschlafly |
|
| 51.
| 05:04, 24 June | Kurt Cobain | Hojimachong |
|
| 52.
| 05:00, 24 June | Fluconazole | Rexislexis |
|
| 53.
| 05:00, 24 June | Dewey Decimal Classiciation | DanH |
|
| 54.
| 05:00, 24 June | Tacoma | Hojimachong |
|
| 55.
| 04:59, 24 June | Administration for Native Americans | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 56.
| 04:59, 24 June | Derivatives | Aschlafly |
|
| 57.
| 04:52, 24 June | Administration for Children and Families | Crocoite | Copy (Link to source as ref only)
|
| 58.
| 04:52, 24 June | Spent fuel | Aschlafly | Copy (with minor rephrasing)
|
| 59.
| 04:51, 24 June | FRA | Aschlafly |
|
| 60.
| 04:50, 24 June | Olathe | DanH |
|
| 61.
| 04:48, 24 June | Solar thermal collector | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 62.
| 04:47, 24 June | Solar spectrum | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 63.
| 04:46, 24 June | Solar radiation | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 64.
| 04:45, 24 June | Solar power tower | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 65.
| 04:44, 24 June | Solar pond | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 66.
| 04:43, 24 June | Solar declination | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 67.
| 04:42, 24 June | Notional principal | Aschlafly |
|
| 68.
| 04:31, 24 June | Solar cooling | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 69.
| 04:20, 24 June | Sodium tripolyphosphate | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 70.
| 04:03, 24 June | Solar constant | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 71.
| 03:50, 24 June | Sodium silicate | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 72.
| 03:49, 24 June | Progressive | Tekrat |
|
| 73.
| 03:37, 24 June | Digg | Tekrat |
|
| 74.
| 03:19, 24 June | Propane | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 75.
| 03:16, 24 June | Fandex | Additioner |
|
| 76.
| 02:48, 24 June | Public utility | Aschlafly | Copy (with minor rephrasing)
|
| 77.
| 02:46, 24 June | PURPA | Aschlafly | Copy (with minor rephrasing)
|
| 78.
| 02:34, 24 June | 341 meeting | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 79.
| 02:32, 24 June | Law Terms 4 | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 80.
| 02:32, 24 June | Law Terms 3 | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 81.
| 02:32, 24 June | Law Terms 1 | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 82.
| 02:26, 24 June | Law Terms Z | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 83.
| 02:26, 24 June | Law Terms Y | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 84.
| 02:25, 24 June | Law Terms X | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 85.
| 02:25, 24 June | Law Terms W | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 86.
| 02:25, 24 June | Law Terms V | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 87.
| 02:25, 24 June | Law Terms U | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 88.
| 02:25, 24 June | Law Terms T | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 89.
| 02:25, 24 June | Law Terms S | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 90.
| 02:25, 24 June | Law Terms R | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 91.
| 02:25, 24 June | Law Terms Q | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 92.
| 02:25, 24 June | Law Terms P | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 93.
| 02:25, 24 June | Law Terms O | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 94.
| 02:25, 24 June | Law Terms N | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 95.
| 02:25, 24 June | Law Terms M | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 96.
| 02:24, 24 June | Law Terms L | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 97.
| 02:24, 24 June | Law Terms K | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 98.
| 02:24, 24 June | Law Terms J | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 99.
| 02:24, 24 June | Law Terms I | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 100.
| 02:24, 24 June | Law Terms H | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 101.
| 02:24, 24 June | Law Terms G | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 102.
| 02:24, 24 June | Law Terms F | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 103.
| 02:24, 24 June | Law Terms E | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 104.
| 02:24, 24 June | Law Terms D | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 105.
| 02:24, 24 June | Law Terms C | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 106.
| 02:24, 24 June | Law Terms B | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 107.
| 02:22, 24 June | Law Terms A | DeborahB. | Index
|
| 108.
| 02:11, 24 June | Statutory interpretation | Aschlafly |
|
| 109.
| 02:02, 24 June | Venture capital | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 110.
| 02:01, 24 June | Trade surplus | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 111.
| 02:01, 24 June | Trade deficit | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 112.
| 01:59, 24 June | Stock | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 113.
| 01:59, 24 June | Stock exchange | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 114.
| 01:59, 24 June | Standard of living | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 115.
| 01:59, 24 June | Social regulation | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 116.
| 01:58, 24 June | Securities | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 117.
| 01:54, 24 June | Regulation | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 118.
| 01:52, 24 June | Protectionism | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 119.
| 01:52, 24 June | Productivity | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 120.
| 01:52, 24 June | Privatization | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 121.
| 01:52, 24 June | Price supports | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 122.
| 01:51, 24 June | Panic | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 123.
| 01:49, 24 June | Over-the-counter | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 124.
| 01:48, 24 June | Open trading system | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 125.
| 01:47, 24 June | Nontariff barrier | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 126.
| 01:47, 24 June | New York Stock Exchange | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 127.
| 01:46, 24 June | National Association of Securities Dealers
Automated Quotation system (Nasdaq) | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 128.
| 01:44, 24 June | Mutual fund | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 129.
| 01:44, 24 June | Money supply | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 130.
| 01:43, 24 June | Monetary policy | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 131.
| 01:43, 24 June | Mixed economy | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 132.
| 01:43, 24 June | Managed float regime | DeborahB. | Copy
|
| 133.
| 01:29, 24 June | Bingo long and the traveling allstars | Imademocrat |
|
| 134.
| 00:46, 24 June | Alfred Sisley | Joaquín Martínez |
|
| 135.
| 00:11, 24 June | Battle of Stalingrad | Hojimachong |
|
| 136.
| 23:53, 23 June | Washington's farewell adress | ArkR3 |
|
| 137.
| 23:52, 23 June | The Matrix | Matthew1036 |
|
| 138.
| 23:41, 23 June | James the Lesser | Fox |
|
| 139.
| 23:29, 23 June | Croatian War of Independence | Hojimachong |
|
| 140.
| 23:26, 23 June | Trinitrotoluene | Elamdri |
|
| 141.
| 23:12, 23 June | J. K. Rowling | Elamdri |
|
| 142.
| 23:02, 23 June | Internal Revenue Service | Elamdri |
|
| 143.
| 22:58, 23 June | Fallujah | Elamdri |
|
| 144.
| 22:55, 23 June | Spine | Elamdri |
|
| 145.
| 22:53, 23 June | Acorn | Elamdri |
|
| 146.
| 22:50, 23 June | Blood alcohol level | Elamdri |
|
| 147.
| 22:48, 23 June | Cleveland (UK) | Pachyderm |
|
| 148.
| 22:32, 23 June | River Tees | Pachyderm |
|
| 149.
| 22:21, 23 June | Back in Black | DanH |
|
| 150.
| 22:00, 23 June | AC/DC | Hojimachong |
|
| 151.
| 21:40, 23 June | White lotus | JohnPeters |
|
| 152.
| 21:39, 23 June | United States presidential election, 1880 | Additioner |
|
| 153.
| 21:22, 23 June | United States presidential election, 1876 | Additioner |
|
| 154.
| 20:35, 23 June | Culture of life | FredRidr |
|
| 155.
| 20:21, 23 June | Emancipation proclamation | ArkR3 |
|
| 156.
| 20:04, 23 June | Brad Stine | Jinxmchue |
|
| 157.
| 19:29, 23 June | Salvia divinorum | Stones |
|
| 158.
| 19:07, 23 June | SaveNetRadio | Be not dismayed |
|
| 159.
| 19:00, 23 June | Dollar | Stones |
|
| 160.
| 18:53, 23 June | Regnat populus | Be not dismayed |
|
| 161.
| 18:49, 23 June | Ditat Deus | Be not dismayed |
|
| 162.
| 18:46, 23 June | North to the future | Be not dismayed |
|
| 163.
| 18:40, 23 June | Audemus jura nostra defendere | Be not dismayed |
|
| 164.
| 18:35, 23 June | Sic semper tyrannis | Be not dismayed |
|
| 165.
| 18:08, 23 June | Pyrolysis | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 166.
| 17:54, 23 June | Propylene | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 167.
| 17:47, 23 June | Reading | Pachyderm |
|
| 168.
| 17:37, 23 June | Geneva | Pachyderm |
|
| 169.
| 17:28, 23 June | Golden ratio in the solar system | Ungtss |
|
| 170.
| 17:27, 23 June | Mozambique | Pachyderm |
|
| 171.
| 17:26, 23 June | HMS Guerriere | Tirronan |
|
| 172.
| 17:23, 23 June | HMS Java | Tirronan |
|
| 173.
| 17:12, 23 June | Joseph (disambiguation) | TerryH |
|
| 174.
| 17:12, 23 June | Tyne & Wear Metro | Pachyderm |
|
| 175.
| 17:10, 23 June | Joseph | TerryH |
|
| 176.
| 17:05, 23 June | Gulag | Pachyderm |
|
| 177.
| 17:04, 23 June | Chalk | Be not dismayed |
|
| 178.
| 17:02, 23 June | The Doors | Dan |
|
| 179.
| 16:57, 23 June | Jim Morrison | Fox |
|
| 180.
| 16:57, 23 June | Henry VII | Pachyderm |
|
| 181.
| 16:57, 23 June | Synonym | Learn together |
|
| 182.
| 16:50, 23 June | Paraffinic hydrocarbons | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 183.
| 16:47, 23 June | Mill | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 184.
| 16:43, 23 June | Brussels | Pachyderm |
|
| 185.
| 16:43, 23 June | Miles per gallon | Aschlafly | Copy (with very odd references)
|
| 186.
| 16:42, 23 June | Methanol | Aschlafly | Copy
|
| 187.
| 16:41, 23 June | Masonry stove | Aschlafly | Copy (with minor rephrasing)
|
| 188.
| 16:40, 23 June | Manufacturing | Aschlafly | Copy (with minor rephrasing)
|
| 189.
| 16:37, 23 June | Major fuels | Aschlafly | "Inspired"
|
| 190.
| 16:11, 23 June | Metroid | Jack7903 |
|
| 191.
| 16:00, 23 June | Daily Telegraph | Pachyderm |
|
| 192.
| 15:54, 23 June | The Times | Pachyderm |
|
| 193.
| 15:37, 23 June | Illustrated London News | Pachyderm |
|
| 194.
| 15:28, 23 June | Suez Crisis | Pachyderm |
|
| 195.
| 15:03, 23 June | Harold Macmillan | Pachyderm |
|
| 196.
| 14:45, 23 June | George Bernard Shaw | Pachyderm |
|
| 197.
| 14:36, 23 June | Cambridgeshire | Pachyderm |
|
| 198.
| 14:26, 23 June | Al Capone | Pachyderm |
|
| 199.
| 11:48, 23 June | Web browser | Elamdri |
|
| 200.
| 10:43, 23 June | Vanilla | Elamdri |
|
| 201.
| 10:38, 23 June | Electric chair | Elamdri |
|
| 202.
| 10:34, 23 June | Edgar Allan Poe | Elamdri |
|
| 203.
| 10:32, 23 June | Widow | Elamdri |
|
| 204.
| 10:19, 23 June | Gravy | Elamdri |
|
| 205.
| 10:16, 23 June | Novel | Elamdri |
|
| 206.
| 10:15, 23 June | Mickey Mouse | Elamdri |
|
| 207.
| 10:06, 23 June | Journalism | Elamdri |
|
| 208.
| 10:05, 23 June | Tin | Elamdri |
|
| 209.
| 09:59, 23 June | Notre Dame | Elamdri |
|
| 210.
| 06:58, 23 June | Tree of Life (Evolution) | Stones |
|
| 211.
| 06:58, 23 June | Tree of Life (Kabbalah) | Stones |
|
| 212.
| 06:50, 23 June | Tetrapod | Aschlafly |
|
| 213.
| 06:49, 23 June | Tree of Life | Aschlafly |
|
| 214.
| 06:47, 23 June | Viability | Aschlafly |
|
| 215.
| 06:43, 23 June | African Burial Ground | Aschlafly |
|
| 216.
| 06:26, 23 June | Presuppositionalist Metaphysics | Stones |
|
| 217.
| 06:05, 23 June | Sound of Majesty | Be not dismayed |
|
[edit] Observations
When noticing a pattern, I will note what an editor really likes and what the problem is. The section structures sound copy-pasted - but if they can't be arsed to make an effort when writing articles, I won't make an effort to describe them. ;)
Andy really likes the Energy Information Administration glossary.
The problem is that copying from there occasionally tends to give extremely technical descriptions. For example, the first sentence of Toluene reads: "Toluene (C6H5CH3) is a colorless liquid of the aromatic group of petroleum hydrocarbons, made by the catalytic reforming of petroleum naphthas containing methyl cyclohexane." Sure thing. That totally made sense to me. Oh, and not one of those words is wikilinked.
[edit] Crocoite
Crocoite really likes official pages of the US government.
The problem is that this makes all of his articles sound like ads. For example, take this sentence from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry entry: "ATSDR serves the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and diseases related to toxic substances." Some of his sources try to sound a bit more unbiased, but don't expect them to mention any potential problems or downsides.
[edit] Deborah B.
Deborah really likes the US Info glossary.
The problem is that she didn't even bother to make the trivial changes that both Andy and Crocoite did (to bring things into the "A <subject> is..." form). Additionally, several of her articles are extremely short (Entire content of Stock: "Ownership shares in the assets of a corporation.").
[edit] Numbers
At least 83 out of 217 articles are 1:1 copies. This even excludes the "inspired" article. Additionally, 29 articles are useless index pages. Keep in mind that this is based on the review of only three sysops (including the founder). This means that only 48.4% (at most!) of all articles created on June 23 are actually original (and useful) material. And this number includes even basically useless one-sentence stubs.
The only good news is that all 1:1 copies are taken from .gov domains, so they seem to be public domain material. Still, the sources come with the problems highlighted above (POV, technical language, too short), so the value of the "articles" is minimal (and might even be negative).
[edit] Final words
I'll leave the final words to other people.
Moreover, is copying OK to "kickstart" a project? No, of course not, especially when attribution is not prominently given for such wholesale copying. - Aschlafly 10:55, 2 April 2007 (EDT) on his talk page
Do not copy from Wikipedia or elsewhere unless it was your original work. [...] Always cite and give credit to your sources, even if in the public domain. - The Conservapedia Commandments (June 24 version)
