Editing ProleWiki

<blockquote>''This article is about the history and notable events that happened on ProleWiki. For a description of the wiki, see the [[ProleWiki:About|About page]].''</blockquote>

{{Infobox website
| name = 
| logo = File:Prolewiki logo 2022.png
| logo_size = 200px
| logo_alt =
| logo_caption = The logo of ProleWiki, a globe featuring a star and wheat emblem, historically communist symbols
| screenshot = File:ProleWiki Screenshot 2022-10-09.png
| screenshot_size = 200px
| screenshot_alt =
| screenshot_caption = Main page of English ProleWiki
| type = Online encyclopedia
| language_count = 7
| language =
| founding_name =
| founding_date = 30 September, 2020
| founding_website =
| founded = 
| founder = [[Comrade:Forte|Comrade Forte]]
| key_people = [[Comrade:CriticalResist|CriticalResist]], [[Comrade:MxAsh|MxAsh]] 
| num_users = 23 [[Special:ActiveUsers|active users]]<br>{{NUMBEROFUSERS}} registered users
| url = prolewiki.org
| footnotes = 
}}
'''ProleWiki''' is a free, collaborative [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] encyclopedia founded in September 2020 aiming to build an [[Anti-imperialism|anti-imperialist]] [[Proletariat|proletarian]] online collection of pages and essays with information on history, current events, [[Communist party|communist parties]] worldwide, and countries, as well as hosting a [[ProleWiki:Library|library]] of texts important to the international proletarian movement. 

ProleWiki was conceived and created in the community of [[Lemmygrad]], which is a communist community using the [[Free and open-source software|open-source]] software [[Lemmy]]. As of October 2022, ProleWiki is available in seven languages and has over 1,700 articles and 530,000 page views.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=ProleWiki|title=Statistics|url=https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Special:Statistics|retrieved=2022-10-09}}</ref>

One goal established for the project at the time of its founding was to make ProleWiki as self-sufficient as early as possible. An influx of new users in late 2022 led to democratic reforms, allowing editors to vote on account requests. Thus the administration is gradually moving closer to a mentor or guidance role, here to guide the editorship towards the goals set out by ProleWiki and measure adherence to the principles, as well as providing help and resources for setting up these editor projects.

== Etymology ==
The name chosen for ProleWiki was based on the term "proletariat", whose root ''"prole"'' you may find in common with very different Western languages: ''proletariat, proletariado, prolétariat, proletariato, proletariaat, etc.'' This linguistic phenomenon reflects the [[Proletarian internationalism|internationalist]] aim of the encyclopedia.

== History ==

=== Founding ===
[[File:Prolewiki logo.png|thumb|203x203px|Old logo of ProleWiki used until February 2022]]
ProleWiki was created on 30 September 2020 by current ProleWiki administrator [[Comrade:Forte|Forte]]. The project began under his sole administration for some time, receiving a casual help from several contributors on technical aspects, the most important of which was [[Comrade:MxAsh|MxAsh]]. She helped with organizing the database, maintaining the server and establishing regular backups if needed.

On 1 November 2020, user [[Comrade:Jucheguevara|Jucheguevara]] joined ProleWiki and became an administrator that same month.

In the month of November, ProleWiki received a mass influx of account creations and spam accounts,<ref name=":0">[https://en.prolewiki.org/index.php?title=Special:Log&offset=&limit=500&type=newusers&user=&page=&wpdate=&tagfilter=&subtype= ProleWiki logs on user creation]</ref> prompting the administration to implement an account request system.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Camarada Forte|newspaper=Lemmygrad|title=Enjoy ProleWiki's first spam attack|date=2020-11-16|url=https://lemmygrad.ml/post/9176|quote=}}</ref>

On 16 November 2020, current ProleWiki administrator [[Comrade:CriticalResist|CriticalResist]] joined the project.<ref name=":0" /> 

Jucheguevara and CriticalResist became administrators on 30 November and 5 February 2021 respectively, along with several other members of ProleWiki (as an invitation was extended to all editors at the time), in an effort to diminish the centralization of tasks into a single person.<ref name=":1">[https://en.prolewiki.org/index.php?title=Special:Log&offset=&limit=500&type=rights&user=&page=&wpdate=&tagfilter=&subtype= ProleWiki logs on user rights]</ref> Eventually, the effort was ineffective as the administration group suffered with absenteeism, and most of the early administrators would have their functions revoked a few months later.<ref name=":1" /> The administrators who remained committed and active on ProleWiki at that time were Jucheguevara, Forte and CriticalResist.

On 29 December 2021, ProleWiki editor [[Comrade:Ledlecreeper27|Ledlecreeper27]] joined the project.<ref name=":0" /> He brought the project to new heights through his extremely quality contributions spanning several subjects. As of 2023, he remains the most prolific editor on ProleWiki.<ref name=":2">[[Special:ContributionScores|ProleWiki contribution scores]]</ref>

=== Purge of patriotic socialists ===
[[File:Jucheguevara Infrared message.png|thumb|314x314px|Messages sent by Jucheguevara to Infrared supporters attempting to infiltrate ProleWiki with MAGA communists]]
In September 2022, Jucheguevara worked with [[Infrared]] in an attempt to infiltrate ProleWiki with [[MAGACommunism|MAGA communists]] and [[Patriotic socialism|patriotic socialists]]. He was banned on 27 September 2022.<ref>{{Web citation|author=@felipeforte|newspaper=[[Lemmygrad]]|title=Jucheguevara has been removed from administrative positions|date=2022-09-27|url=https://lemmygrad.ml/post/391777}}</ref> Following the purge of patsocs, followers of Infrared started [[InfraWiki]] on 13 October to promote [[settler colonialism]] and [[social conservatism]].<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=InfraWiki|title=InfraWiki|date=2022-11-21|url=https://infrawiki.us/index.php/InfraWiki|retrieved=2022-11-25}}</ref> Considering the timing and the skills JucheGuevara gained on the [[MediaWiki]] software while working for ProleWiki, it is believed that he is involved with InfraWiki in some capacity, but no confirmation exists to this day. On 22 October, ProleWiki added opposition to chauvinism and patriotic socialism to its [[ProleWiki:Principles|principles]].<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=ProleWiki|title=Principles of ProleWiki|date=2022-10-22|url=https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/ProleWiki:Principles|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122165427/https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/ProleWiki:Principles|archive-date=2022-11-22|retrieved=2023-01-28}}</ref>

=== Internal conflicts ===
In June 2022, [[Comrade:Wisconcom|Wisconcom]], a self-described [[Hoxhaism|Hoxhaist]], joined ProleWiki. He was a competent editor and overall improved many articles on ProleWiki, reaching 4th in all time edits in late 2022.<ref name=":2" /> In ProleWiki's [[Discord]] server, Wisconcom had behavioural and ideological conflicts with other editors, but was allowed to stay due to his prolific editing. For the most part he respected the line of ProleWiki, even though he did not agree with it.

In August 2022, Wisconcom began to oppose ProleWiki's [[ProleWiki:Principles|principles]] in the talk page of the ''[[Socialist market economy]]'' article.<ref>[[Topic:X1agp9ljig0tt2cj|Topic on ''Socialist market economy'' talk page]]</ref> When the discussion was shared in [[Lemmygrad]], Wisconcom argued with others and sometimes insulted them.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Camarada Forte|newspaper=Lemmygrad|title=Discussion about socialist market economy. Does socialism have commodity production? Is China a capitalist country because it has commodity production?|date=2022-08-16|url=https://lemmygrad.ml/post/353032}}</ref> Because of his behaviour, he was eventually banned from Lemmygrad but later created another account to evade his ban.

After creating a community for Hoxhaism in Lemmygrad dedicated to anti-[[People's Republic of China|China]] propaganda, Lemmygrad administrators called for a collective debate on the issue in the People's Court of Lemmygrad (a space that the administrators use to poll and audit the community and gather opinions), and it was decided that Wisconcom and his community would be banned for ban-evading and [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] propaganda.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Black Tulip|newspaper=Lemmygrad|title=The Admins want your opinion on the Hoxhaism community. [RESOLVED]|date=2022-08-26|url=https://lemmygrad.ml/post/362912}}</ref> Even though he was banned from Lemmygrad, he was allowed to continue in ProleWiki. What started as honest engagements with ProleWiki editors would gradually devolve to name-calling, falsely-equivocating, and generally being disruptive. Wisconcom later edited articles to oppose the consensus of the editors without the consultation of said editors and also engaged in a dishonest manner with others, even resorting to lying and editing/deleting his messages after sending them to make it look like he said something different.

Wisconcom retired on 17 October after this struggle session. Three days later, he came back demanding that he be given higher authority over ProleWiki "to ensure that no unfair rejections of [[Anti-revisionism|anti-revisionists]] takes place" (referring to ProleWiki's account request system).<ref>[[Topic:X5dlyp67d28sfwgz|Topic on the talk page of ProleWiki administrator Forte]]</ref> After arguing with Forte and condemning ProleWiki and Lemmygrad, he was banned on 21 October.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=ProleWiki|title=Blocked users|url=https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Special:BlockList?wpTarget=&wpOptions%5B%5D=addressblocks&wpOptions%5B%5D=rangeblocks&blockType=&limit=50&wpFormIdentifier=blocklist|retrieved=2022-11-26}}</ref> Following his ban, he has attempted infiltrating ProleWiki through several means and even managed to deface some ProleWiki articles in the German-language instance (in which he calls China a [[Fascism|fascist]] state<ref name=":3" /><ref><blockquote>''"Er behauptet zwar, ein sozialistischer Staat zu sein, steht aber in Wirklichkeit unter der Herrschaft einer kapitalistischen und sozialfaschistischen Oligarchie."''  (It [China] claims to be a socialist state, but in reality is under the leadership of a capitalist and social fascist oligarchy.)</blockquote>
<blockquote>''"China wird von der sogenannten 'Kommunistischen' Partei Chinas regiert, einer sozialfaschistischen und revisionistischen Partei."''   (China is ruled by the so-called 'Communist' Party of China, a social fascist and revisionist party.)</blockquote>
<blockquote>"Die Staatsideologie ist der 'Sozialismus chinesischer Prägung' [...]. Diese Ideologie wird durch ihr neofaschistisches korporatistisches Wirtschaftsmodell [...] definiert."  (The state ideology is 'Socialism with Chinese characteristics'.  This ideology is defined by its neo-fascist corporatist economic model.)</blockquote>
<blockquote>"China basiert auf einer 'dritten positionistischen' (faschistischen Korporatismus) staatskapitalistischen Wirtschaft."  (China is based on a 'third positionist' (fascist corporatism) state capitalist economy.)</blockquote>
<blockquote>"Informationen aus der Volksrepublik China angesichts ihrer faschistischen Politik der Autarkie und ihrer quasi-dystopischen Überlebenssysteme [...] knapp sind."  ([In reference to trade unions] Information about the People's Republic of China is scarce given its fascist politics of autarchy and its quasi-dystopian systems of survival.)</blockquote>
<blockquote>''"1989 protestierte eine große Anzahl von Studentenprotestierenden, [...], gegen die kapitalistisch-faschistische und revisionistische Diktatur von Deng Xiaoping"'' (In 1989, a large number of student protestors protested against the capitalist-fascist and revisionist dictator Deng Xiaoping.)</blockquote>
<blockquote>''"Die sozialfaschistische dengistische Regierung unterdrückte die prosozialistischen Proteste [...] bald mit brutaler Gewalt."''  (The social-fascist Dengist government quickly suppresses pro-socialist protests with brutal force.)</blockquote>
<blockquote>''"Nach 1989 wurde in China eine definitive faschistische Diktatur geschaffen."''  (After 1989, a definite fascist dictatorship was established.)</blockquote>
Wisconcom (2022).:  ''Volksrepublik China''.  (in German).  ProleWiki.  [https://web.archive.org/web/20230103091002/https://de.prolewiki.org/index.php?title=Volksrepublik_China&diff=prev&oldid=4759 Archived] from [https://de.prolewiki.org/index.php?title=Volksrepublik_China&diff=prev&oldid=4759 the original] on 2023-01-03.  Retrieved 2022-10-29.</ref>, suggests that it is committing a genocide in its easternmost regions,<ref><blockquote>''"Es begeht derzeit zahlreiche Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit und soll in seinem östlichen Land sogar Völkermord begehen."''  (It [China] is committing numerous crimes against humanity at this time and is even said to be committing genocide in its eastern territory.)</blockquote>
<blockquote>''"Bild, das die chinesische revisionistische Unterdrückung und den Völkermord in Tibet darstellt."''  (Image depicting the revisionist Chinese repression and the genocide in Tibet.)</blockquote>
Wisconcom (2022).:  ''Volksrepublik China''.  (in German).  ProleWiki.  [https://web.archive.org/web/20230103091002/https://de.prolewiki.org/index.php?title=Volksrepublik_China&diff=prev&oldid=4759 Archived] from [https://de.prolewiki.org/index.php?title=Volksrepublik_China&diff=prev&oldid=4759 the original] on 2023-01-03.  Retrieved 2022-10-29.</ref> and likens the Chinese economy to that of [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]]<ref><blockquote>''"...die einzige erlaubte 'Gewerkschaft' ist eine einzige staatliche Institution namens 'Gesamtchinesischer Gewerkschaftsbund' [...], ähnlich der 'Gewerkschaft' in Nazideutschland."''  (The only 'trade union' allowed is a state-owned institution called the 'All-China Federation of Trade Unions', similar to the 'trade union' in Nazi Germany.)</blockquote>
Wisconcom (2022).:  ''Volksrepublik China''.  (in German).  ProleWiki.  [https://web.archive.org/web/20230103091002/https://de.prolewiki.org/index.php?title=Volksrepublik_China&diff=prev&oldid=4759 Archived] from [https://de.prolewiki.org/index.php?title=Volksrepublik_China&diff=prev&oldid=4759 the original] on 2023-01-03.  Retrieved 2022-10-29.</ref>). He has denounced ProleWiki as promoting "Dengist [[Revisionism|revisionist]] ideology."<ref name=":3">{{Web citation|author=Wisconcom|newspaper=Substack|title=On ProleWiki|date=2022-11-13|url=https://wisconcom.substack.com/p/on-prolewiki}}</ref>

=== Attempted infiltration ===
Wisconcom used his account on [[RationalWiki]] to spread anti-China propaganda and denounce ProleWiki for being "[[tankie]]", "pro-[[Communist Party of China|CCP]]", and "whitewashing Chinese [[imperialism]]."<ref>{{Web citation|author=Wisconcom|newspaper=RationalWiki|title=Revision of the page "Wiki" as of 02:08, 3 November 2022|date=2022-11-03|url=https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Wiki&diff=prev&oldid=2497774|archive-url=https://archive.ph/9gP3m|archive-date=2023-02-15}}</ref> This event was shared on Lemmygrad,<ref>{{Web citation|author=@felipeforte|newspaper=Lemmygrad|title=Wisconcom has made edits on RationalWiki claiming we are "pro-CCP" propaganda|date=2022-11-13|url=https://lemmygrad.ml/post/434221|retrieved=2022-11-26}}</ref> leading him to create another fake account claiming he didn't make the edits.<ref>{{Web citation|date=2022-11-03|title=Revision of the page "RationalWiki:Requests to change username" as of 20:20, 13 November 2022|url=https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Wiki&diff=prev&oldid=2497774|newspaper=RationalWiki|author=Wisconcom|quote=I request to have my username changed to "Fiscornus", [my] present username just doesn't feel right for me.}}</ref><ref>{{Web citation|author=@Leninimusundthings (Wisconcom)|newspaper=Lemmygrad|title=Comment on "Wisconcom has made edits on RationalWiki claiming we are "pro-CCP" propaganda"|date=2022-11-13|url=https://lemmygrad.ml/post/434221/comment/320477|retrieved=2022-11-27}}</ref><ref>{{Web citation|date=2022-11-20|title=Revision of the page "RationalWiki:Requests to change username" as of 03:44, 20 November 2022|url=https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Wiki&diff=prev&oldid=2497774|newspaper=RationalWiki|author=Wisconcom|quote=I temporally changed my username due to security reasons, however, those reasons no longer exist. I request my username be changed back to Wisconcom, sorry for the confusion.}}</ref>
[[File:Wisconcom's message to the ProleWiki administration on Reddit.png|thumb|466x466px|A screen capture of ''Wisconcom''<nowiki/>'s message to the mods of the ProleWiki subreddit, under the alias ''ComradeWenger'', saying "You have forced me to go THERMONUCLEAR!" as he announces the "Committee to Reconstitute ProleWiki"]]
On 26 January 2022, Wisconcom contacted the moderators of the r/ProleWiki subreddit (at the time, the same administrators of ProleWiki) and left them a message under a known alias of his, ComradeWenger, saying ProleWiki had "left him no choice" and that he would "go [[Nuclear weapon|THERMONUCLEAR]]!" (see picture on the right). Around the same time as this message, he founded a committee seeking to infiltrate ProleWiki and overthrow its administration.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Wisconcom|title=Announcement on the creation of the Committee to Reconstitute ProleWiki|date=2023-01-26|url=https://wisconcom.substack.com/p/announcement-on-the-creation-of-the/comments|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127232637/https://wisconcom.substack.com/p/announcement-on-the-creation-of-the/comments|archive-date=2023-01-27|retrieved=2023-01-28}}</ref>

This prompted the administration of ProleWiki to create an internal security group composed of trusted editors, whose tasks are to audit prospective and established members, monitor ProleWiki's reputation online, help solve conflicts between editors, and generally offer opinions and information on matters of security to the project. This group was formalised on 15 February 2023.
=== Democratic reforms ===
[[File:ProleWiki book club.png|thumb|Screenshot of the users who participated in the first ProleWiki book club]]
Regular backups were quickly established, and a plan to distribute them freely on the Internet (so that ProleWiki could be rehosted in case it went down) was studied but left out due to the effort required to enact that plan, which was not deemed urgent.

In the fall of 2022, the administration started a work group program, which was aimed at delegating some tasks (outside of editing articles) to the editorship. An Agitprop group was created, which editors could join to help create content for social media. This work group structure that ProleWiki adopted and encourages lets editors branch out to areas of interest to them and not limit themselves strictly to editing the wiki. Editors are able to propose almost any plan they wish to be involved with that would be beneficial for ProleWiki, and the administrators help them with everything they need to set up these self-governing groups.

Around the same time, editors became more involved in approving account requests. When someone requests an account on Prolewiki, their vetting answers are systematically passed on to the editorship in the Discord server who can vote with a simple yes or no. The administration provides context if necessary, and abides by the results of the vote. This was made possible by the growing interest in ProleWiki that happened in 2022, as the Discord server was mostly inactive until some users joined in September and breathed new life into it.

In January 2023, ProleWiki made great strides in its goal of establishing proper [[democratic centralism]] in the project so that it would not depend on a single person for survival. Co-administrator CriticalResist was given access to the entirety of the ProleWiki accounts and started learning how to debug MediaWiki software on a VPS. This meant that in case either of the two administrators was unable to participate on the project in the future, the other could always keep ProleWiki alive.

Around the same time, editor [[Comrade:RedCustodian|RedCustodian]] created a book club that was managed entirely by himself,<ref>{{Web citation|author=@felipeforte|newspaper=Lemmygrad|title=Follow-up post about ProleWiki’s book club|date=2023-02-13|url=https://lemmygrad.ml/post/511125|retrieved=2023-02-18}}</ref> with members of the book club voting on what to read and when.

=== Fundraiser ===
In February 2023, ProleWiki began its first ever fundraiser to expand its storage space from 40 to 80 gigabytes. The goal of the fundraiser was $528 USD, enough to cover the hosting costs of this new server for two years.<ref name=":4">{{Web citation|author=@CriticalResist8|newspaper=Lemmygrad|title=Comrade, ProleWiki has big plans and needs your donation!|date=2023-02-18|url=https://lemmygrad.ml/post/514336|retrieved=2023-02-18}}</ref> The administration has been completely transparent about where the money is going;<ref>CriticalResist, Forte (2023-02-21).:  [[ProleWiki:Donate|''ProleWiki:Donate'']].  ProleWiki.  [https://web.archive.org/web/20230221224322/https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/ProleWiki:Donate Archived] from the original on 2023-02-21.  Retrieved on 2023-02-21.</ref> it has also decided that, should any excess be raised, the contributors would be allowed to vote on what the surplus is spent on.<ref name=":4" />

The first goal (one year of hosting) was reached in under 24 hours after comrade [[Comrade:Deogeo|Deogeo]] made a $200 USD donation. Then, with help from Lemmygrad and [[Hexbear]] users, ProleWiki raised their stated goal of $528 USD in just 5 days.

== Social media ==
* [https://discord.com/invite/ZQTBNRU9v5 Discord]
* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/747910359442297 Facebook]
* [https://lemmygrad.ml/c/prolewiki Lemmygrad]
* [https://matrix.to/#/%23prolewiki:matrix.org Matrix]
* [https://www.reddit.com/r/prolewiki/ Reddit]
* [https://www.tiktok.com/@prolewiki TikTok]
* [https://twitter.com/prolewiki Twitter]
* [https://www.youtube.com/@prolewiki/featured YouTube]

== References ==
[[Category:Wikis]]
[[Category:Online encyclopedias]]
<references />
[[Category:Socialist media outlets]]