Given all the recent fuss over Wikipedia’s history of blatant dismissal of the webcomics medium, I feel the need to express the following, and I think all webcomic creators, both superstar and little guys, should take this to heart.

"Why do we even care about this?"

We do not need Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is an occasionally useful source of information; it’s not always reliable due to the fact that anyone can alter the entries. However, you need to justify an article if it is nominated for deletion, and this is where the overzealous editors have been nailing webcomics. They won’t take the word of the creator of the comic, and when one of the bigger names in webcomics – those largely considered to be authorities in webcomics by the editors themselves, makes a stand in favor of leaving the article, the editors simply reject the argument by giving some half-hearted excuse. This has happened before. Eric Burns has been cited by the editors as an authority, and when he made a stand in favor of saving the Checkerboard Nightmare entry, his voice was ignored – the excuse given that he did not have enough Wiki posts. I’m sorry but that is bullshit, plain and simple.

The Wikipedia vendetta against webcomics is nothing new. Keenspot, Girly, Checkerboard Nightmare have all been among the most publicized cases, and now The Noob has just survived a challenge. Countless other smaller comics have been deleted without justification, and some other larger strips have had their entries eliminated. Comixpedia is yet another victim, despite being one of the major digital gathering points for creators and perhaps the most viewed website for webcomics news. All of the aforementioned strips and sites have met Wikipedia’s requirements for an entry, yet they are continually targeted for deletion, and more often than not, there is no room for debate. We fight back, we argue, we seek to justify our very existence to a select few Wikipedia editors. We lose more than we win. Why do we need to do this? How could a little entry in some “encyclopedia” possibly mean so much? Yet we play the game with the editors, again and again, jumping through their hoops when they refuse to play by their own rules.

It’s time to end it.

We do not need Wikipedia.

There are a number of reasons for this. First off, an entry will only be seen if a user actually goes looking for it specifically. They won’t just stumble across it on some other random search. Given the sheer number of people able to change that article, it likely won’t be truly accurate. For research purposes, a short history page on the comic/site itself is likely the best route to go for any creator. It’s straight from the horse’s mouth. Sure, the creator may lie, but so could anyone on Wikipedia as well. What good does that do anyone? We sure can’t trust the editors to correct those mistakes, now can we? If the editors will allow every little detail from every reality show ever aired to be covered in detail, and consider that both significant and relevant, doesn’t that alone speak volumes about their abilities and qualifications as editors?

Second, we do not need the fight. We have enough drama in webcomics as it is. The people responsible for the deletion of the webcomic articles are few in number, and have proven that they will not be swayed by things like facts, numbers, and the opinions of the experts they themselves cite. Why would they ever change their minds? What could we possibly do? We can’t get through to them, plain and simple. It will not change today, tomorrow, or in the future. They choose to remain ignorant of webcomics, despite our best efforts to inform and educate. They are prejudiced, and they will continue their vendetta.

Third, and this is the absolute most important part, is that the world of webcomics has been scratching and clawing for validation from the public for years, and we have been consistently gaining ground and slowly winning that battle. More webcomic creators are going professional, webcomic merchandise is being featured on television programs, the print companies are taking notice, and webcomic artists are no longer just isolated writers and artists going out for page hits. We are a community, one that is uniting more and more each day. The number of collectives is rising. The online syndicates are doing well. Creators are forming social circles and sharing their knowledge with both their peers and fans. When people new to webcomics enter the fold, there’s a wealth of knowledge already available to them – all they have to do is ask. We are a strong community that takes care of our own, that welcomes people to the club, that will not simply call something irrelevant and dismiss it. If someone does try that, you can be damn sure that the community will call them on it. There is room for debate in our world. Given all this, given all the information out there in the community, given sites like Comixpedia and Comixpedia.org, do we really need to prove to a select few elitist individuals that we are relevant, that we deserve a spot in their “encyclopedia”? No – we most certainly DO NOT.

Fourth, Wikipedia is dealing with the many of the same struggle for relevance. Wikipedia is not recognized by the academic and intellectual world; in other words, they feel Wikipedia is not relevant, reliable, or significant. Most colleges, and a growing number of high schools, will not allow students to get information from Wikipedia. This is due to the fact that entries can be altered and untrue. Many studies have actually set out to intentionally alter entries to test the editors, and many, many such studies have been done. Who knows how much damage has been done – how many facts were left incorrect due to a few intellectuals sabotaging Wikipedia? There are also many individuals who alter entries for kicks, with no reason behind it other than that it’s “fun”. Such a flawed system cannot be trusted for accurate information. Wikipedia is in the middle of a struggle for relevance – does that sound just a tad familiar? Does the webcomics world really want to be involved in a mess filled with elitists and abrasive, pompous know-it-alls? I say we don’t.

At the end of the day, the webcomics world needs to give up on the Wikipedia fight. We don’t need to justify our very existence to people who can’t see past their own prejudices to see the facts, and who won’t follow the very rules they themselves have set. We can’t win in an environment like that. If Wikipedia operates this way, then they defeat their own goals. Wikipedia is irrelevant, not us. They have proven that through their actions, their continued ignorance, and refusal to “lose” to a webcomic creator. We don’t need that when we’ve been doing fine on our own this long. It’s time to leave these ignorant boobs alone.

Stand up, be proud of who you are and what you have created; don't let these bastards put you down and tell you that you don't matter. We have proven that we do. In the end, the opinions of a few consistently hypocritical elitists is what doesn't matter.

We don’t need Wikipedia.

Thank you for your time.