According to some research, people with Wikipediholism often experience hallucinations and dreams aboutWikipedia in human form, for example as seen in this picture.
Having registered a Wikipedia account, preexistingcomputer addiction, too much free time, occupation (computer programmer, academic, tertiary education student),gender bias on Wikipedia
Treatment
Incurable, though possible to alleviate partially with theWikipatch. Putting your laptop in another room.
AWikipediholic,wikiholic,Wikipediaholic,Wikipath,wikiaddict, orwikimaniac (inbinomial classification,Homo wikiaddictus[b] orHomo wikidependus), (considered by some to be a subspecies ofHomo sapiens), is someone who suffers from Wikipediholism, or obsession (addiction in some cases) withWikipedia or otherwikis. One of the most common characteristics of the condition is the victim reading or editing Wikipedia articles with much more frequency than the average person. Another common characteristic is having aweb browser window constantly open to theRecent Changes section of Wikipedia and/or other wikis (or in the condition's slightly milder form, one'sWatchlist), and pressing the "Reload" or "Refresh" button with a high frequency (sometimes leading tocarpal tunnel syndrome) (or using the live updates feature to avoid having to refresh). Others have a bottle ofWikipedihol tablets by their desktop. Others click the "random page" button instead. Still others endlessly edit pages, and/or endlessly track and monitor the edits of users with whom they have become obsessed. This disorder can lead to a serious decrease in productivity in all other areas of the victim's life, like any otheraddiction. That is why they're called Wikipedia abusers, after all. Do not taunt their lack of significant others; it is but a mere illusion.
Official Wikipediholism Test: If you think you are a Wikipediholic, please take this test for proper diagnosis. Note: This is quite long; set aside at least 15 minutes to take this test. Or just procrastinate taking it and then forget to take it (as Wikipediholics all do).
This is a recent phenomenon – having been made possible by the creation of Wikipedia inJanuary 2001 – and particularly affectsacademics,graduate students,game show contestants, people working inSTEM,nerds,telecommuters, people living in thesuburbs, news junkies, theunemployed or soon-to-be unemployed,WikiChildren, people who are more bored or curious than normal, people with multiple interests and high IQs (or at least believe they have high IQs. The online IQ test you took probably isn't very reliable).
Although people who fit those descriptions are welcome, especially the coconut monkeys, they should know that their fellow primates do not necessarily share their world-view and that it may be better for wiki itself if they take a walk once in a while, and remember that their body consists of more than fingers, eyes, brain, and bladder. And thatwiki exists to serve us, notas an end wholly in itself.
An alternative addiction is "wikistalking."
Wikistalkers have gotten over their addiction to editing. However, they enjoy watching even the most minute changes. Most probably checkNew pages continuously.
Wikiholics are often called "nerds", a term used negatively. In fact, with how many articles they read and absorb into their brains, they are super-sapiens.
You've alreadyedited theSigns of Wikipediholism list.
You deny that you've already edited theSigns of Wikipediholism list, even though it's obvious you did.
You get nervous when someone sends you the link for theSigns of Wikipediholism list because you don't want someone to find out you edited theSigns of Wikipediholism list because it's super obvious you did.
You avoid sharingGIFs on social media out of fear of violating copyright laws.
You try to edit your sent items on your email account, thinking that they can be updated.
You check your watchlist and talk page more than your email inbox.
You get frustrated when you can't fix typos in your local news but are simultaneously glad that you can't because then it would be an unreliable source that includesuser-generated content.
You get anxious and even angry at reading the giant sea ofWP:DAB pages on the previous bullet point.
You get annoyed when another editor changes some of the links on that bullet point so that they aren'tWP:DAB pages anymore, which ruins the joke.
You tried to fix this joke to make it have even more disambiguations than it used to.
You get confused when you can't find the little blue edit markers on books and magazines.
You accidentally say "Does this spot on my hat look notable?"
You whisper "[citation needed]" every time you say something that you don't have that much information for.[citation needed]
You accidentally end your comments on other websites with ~~~~.[citation needed]
You try to end things you say in real life with ~~~~. (???)[citation needed]
You begin to adhere toMOS:NUMERAL in your personal communications.
You question why clicking on the first link on almost any article enough times will usually lead tophilosophy. You try writing a program that uses logic and reasoning to find out why (You fail and cry yourself to sleep).
Youfantasize about ananthropomorphic Wikipedia (who added this?)(seriously, who did it? I want to give them an award :D) (The one who posted this question isnot a true Wikipedian; the true one knows how to find the answer.)
If so much as one thing you don't know comes across your mind, you bolt for the nearest computer to see if Wikipedia has a page on it.
If it does, you drop whatever you were doing before the urge took you and edit the page obsessively, whether you know the topic or not.
If it does not, you obsessively check every single paper encyclopedia you have and search six different search engines for information on the subject. Then you proceed to write three screens worth on the topic and create an article on it, which probably will never be seen or thought about by another being in a thousand years.
You change your clock to match UTC rather than your own time zone because it's easier that way.
You move to somewhere in the UTC time zone because it's easierand in your timezone.
You stylise documents similar to a Wikipedia article.School notes of a former Wikiholic aboutThe Last Leaf byO. Henry stylised under the 2022 MediaWiki theme
You start playingWikiLadders – the game where you open two random articles and try to get from the first to the second using only the links in the first and subsequent articles...
...and then go back to try and do it again using fewer links.
You try editing magazines.
You try editingUncyclopedia in an attempt to escape from Wikipedia.
You fail miserably, and return to Wikipedia once again.
You skip an important date to look up references for an article on a subject you'd never even heard of before you discovered Wikipedia.
You turn up late for work and bleary-eyed after a particularly aggressiveXfD (and you know what XfD means because you've looked it up already.)
Better yet, you're unemployed.
Your state/provincial/territorial/national reference librarians know you by first name.
Your state/provincial/territorial/national reference librarians know you by first, middle, last, and nicknames.
You add Wiki to most words inreal life, and have sent letters to theOxford University Press demanding that "wiki" be added as an official prefix.
You have conversations with yoursock puppet on the talk pages (this is against Wikipedia rules but don't tell your sock puppet, she loves you platonically).
Your best friend is yoursock puppet (also against Wikipedia rules).
You start falling in love with your sock puppet (actually...this is not explicitly against Wikipedia rules... yet).
You... actually succeed with this one (You guessed it![citation needed]) and witness the establishment of a intergalactic civilization and becomeJimbo Wales'sRightHandMan.
You're reading this whilst in the edit page.
You forgot reality existed until you passed out and woke up in a hospital instead of in front of your computer.
Those who are the most at risk for catching the disease are those who havecreated an account, have access to a computer constantly and consistently, and who like the idea of a wiki. Those withEditcountitis may have elevated risk factors, as dohackers,Linux users, andFirefox enthusiasts (because of their exposure toopen source technology).
When asked "do you want to be right or happy?", the Wikipediholic answers "be right!" without hesitation.
The patient finds that they "like" Wikipedia. They use the Main Page as a bookmark and consult the articles for information. The patient contributes to articles that they find lacking. They learn basic wiki markup. The patient can, however, give up now and cure themselves.
The patient uses the Main Page or their watchlist as bookmarks and their homepage. They reduce other online activities. The patient may join aWikiProject and contribute heavily to articles, as well as try editing outside the article and talk namespaces. They learn basic HTML and advanced wiki markup. The patient requests to become anAdministrator, and proudly shows off theirbarnstars. Most refuse cures, which are still available during this stage.
Whenblocked, some Wikipediholics have been known to grieve over their loss of editing privileges.
The patient uses their watchlist as their homepage. They may also explore theRecent changes. The patient reduces other "real world" activities such as washing clothes, cleaning their house and talking to friends. Editing takes up more and more time. They may edit on a smartphone on the bus, at work, at home on a laptop and even in bed on a tablet. They may join multiple WikiProjects and contribute very heavily to many articles, as well as trying to edit heavily outside the article and talk namespaces. Certain individuals may even choose to editWikipedia:Wikipediholic and related articles. The patient learns advanced HTML and master wiki markup. They become an Administrator. The patient may use third party software to edit Wikipedia, and accumulate many barnstars. The thought comes to them, while reading this page, "this isn't funny; my contributions to Wikipedia areextremely important". Cures become scarce.
The patient uses the Recent changes as their homepage and identifies as aRecent changes patroller. They reduce all other activities besides those relating to "real world" health and Wikipedia (and sometimes endanger the former). The patient joins multiple WikiProjects and contributes very heavily to many articles, as well as to the core of running of Wikipedia. They master HTML and rewrite theManual of Style. The patient requests to be aBureaucrat or Wikimedia Foundation employee. They shun third-party software, preferring the "raw" Wikipedia experience. The patient has so many barnstars that they take them off their userpage because they take up too much room and place them in a subpage of their userpage. Extreme denial may result, and cure is almost impossible. Terminal stages are when the wikipediholic spends an inordinate amount of time onWikipedia, and may spend very little time eating, sleeping or washing due to the amount of time being spent on Wikipedia.
In extreme (yet rare, we hope!) cases, the patient may begin publishingpaper versions of Wikipedia and trying to make profit off of them.
For those who see no end to their Wikipediholism, they may want to join theDepartment of Fun to keep things interesting. Also, keep an eye out for more Wikitivities. For instance, writesongs like the parody "Hotel Wikipedia" and "Staying Alive" as laments of despair over lost and ruined lives.
You might also want to try a cure ofwikipatch. In case of an "OMG" dire emergency and should all else fail, consider checking into theClinic for Wikipediholics.
You might jointroll organizations, but you will probably find very little solace there, since trolls have poor social support for each other, and they are still stuck here like the rest of us.
Perhaps the most effective solution of all is to embrace your Wikipediholism, accept it as part of your identity, and cherish it. Don't just admit it—brag about it! And if others call you a Wikipediholic, take that as a compliment. If they call you a troll, and they will, so what? Spread your Wikipediholism! It is only a good thing! We're all trolls here. Eventually.
We admitted we werepowerless over Wikipedia; that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that anAuthor of Knowledge greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our obsession for editing and article creation over to the care of The Author of Knowledge as we understood them.
Made a searching and fearless knowledgeinventory of ourselves.
Admitted to the Author of Knowledge, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of ourfactual mistakes and gaps.
Were entirely ready to have the Author of Knowledgeremove all these factual defects.
Humbly asked them to remove our shortcomings bymotivating us to be diligent in our research and study.
Made a list of all persons (defined as editors or administrators) we hadharmed by spreading unverified rumors, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Madedirect amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Continued to take personal knowledge inventories and when we are wrong promptly admit it.
Sought through Wiki prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with the Author of Knowledge, as we understood them, praying only for knowledge of their will for us and the power to carry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to Wikipediholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
With all due reverence and respect to those who suffer from genuine addictions and have found relief and recovery throughtwelve-step programs, and equal respect for those who have tried and failed to do the same thing.
Those wishing to get rid of the habit, may wish to check themselves in theClinic. Those who are sick of all these jokes and just want to talk to someone may wish to check the talk page.
