Building on yesterday's magnus opus, the theoretical basis for all that will come, I was very pleased to read this morning about how recipe wikis are taking off enough to justify a story in the New York Times... and how they are a little disfunctional:

One of her contributions — a “porn burger” of Spam, prosciutto and beef — was deleted because it invited too many X-rated additions. Malicious vandalism is a constant worry. Substituting body fluids for ingredients is a favorite prank. A mix of staffers and volunteers police sites to catch bad edits. I tested this, adding “one small plastic car” to the ingredient list for barbecued pork on both Foodista.com and Recipe Wiki. Two days later I got a kind slap on the wrist from Danny at Wikia.com: “If you’re new to wikis, I know how tempting it is to try out something silly and see what happens. It’s not a big deal; I took the plastic car out, so now the BBQ Pork is going to have to call for a taxi if it wants to get anywhere. :) ”

Like using Twitter, playing with a wiki is a way to participate in the internet without actually doing much. But unlike Twitter, a food wiki deflates self-importance rather than giving that creepy false sense. Unlike the article's allegation, however, wikis serve to defeat the long tail by forcing harmonization and compliance. A wiki is nothing if someone is not watching over the collective shoulder. No, rather than promote the individual ego, the wiki is the hive if not the borg. And what better hive than one with a well stocked fridge?

I wonder if there is a libertarian wiki out there. That would be funny.