 | This page contains material that is kept because it is considered humorous. Such material is not meant to be taken seriously. |
 | This page in a nutshell: WikiSloths contribute to Wikipedia for hedonistic reasons, enjoying the intellectual challenge or social interaction. They avoid stress and rarely engage in protracted rows or edit wars. Because they edit due to their inclination or current fad, they can be seen in varied areas of the wiki. |
| WikiSloth | |
|---|---|
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| Wikisloths hard at work | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Pilosa |
| Family: | Bradypodidae |
| Genus: | Bradypus |
| Species: | B. wikitridactylus
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| Binomial name | |
| Bradypus wikitridactylus | |
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| A WikiSloth waving | |
A WikiSloth is a user who makes contributions based solely on hedonistic intellectual enjoyment. Their contributions are valuable because they rarely get involved in protracted disputes or edit wars, due to their attitude usually being that of WP:DGAF.
WikiSloths can be found anywhere, due to their tending to edit as the mood takes them. They will disagree with other users if necessary but not get into a long exchange of nasty comments or personal attacks, as then it stops being fun.
Differences and similarities to other Wikifauna
editThey mostly resemble the WikiOgre, depending on how regularly they edit Wikipedia, with short spurts of large edits, complete rewrites, or even new articles, followed by periods of rest fixing minor typos and errors as they find them. But they differ in that they are not inspired so much by passion, as by random interest and inclination.
WikiSloths will respect, but not feel much kinship with, WikiGnomes, because the latter carry out what appears to resemble work. They may occasionally be found doing the tasks favoured by the WikiElves, WikiFairies or WikiGremlins, when they have a fad for the task involved.
Very rarely, they edit like a WikiDragon, but this would depend on whether a subject interests them sufficiently. It's not often that a WikiSloth will want to invest such an amount of time and energy into one particular article or protracted edit.
Conflicts and friendships with other editors
editWikiSloths may be found on User talk pages because they enjoy collaborating and discussion with other editors. After editing for a while, they may turn up in Wikipedia space, on WP:ANI, WP:RfA or WP:AfD for the same reason, because they enjoy sharing their opinion. They tend to dislike rude editors, unless they are amusing.
Their initial edits to an article may invite confrontation from fanatics of the subject involved, simply because they rarely have the same degree of investment in it and are therefore more detached.
On rare occasions, WikiSloths may turn aggressive when their laid-back lifestyles are threatened, for example when attacked by a WikiBadger.
Positive and negative qualities
editAll the advantages of WP:DGAF apply, with the WikiSloths having a knack for detachment and evenhandedness.
At times, they amuse themselves by lighthearted mocking, especially if they perceive that others are taking themselves too seriously. This same lightheartedness prevents them from criticizing others at length.
Indeed, it's hard for a WikiSloth to do anything at length. They slowly amble, or neatly swing, from one aspect of the wiki to another, though they often return to articles they are interested in. They may gradually shape those articles to high quality, but they will seldom purposely go through the Good Article or Featured Article process themselves. It's too much bother, and these laid-back creatures don't care about collecting awards. If discussion in one of their favored topics bogs down into nitpicking or Wikilawyering, a WikiSloth will wander away and return after the dust has settled.
WikiSloths could be seen as one of the more down-to-earth creatures on Wikipedia, as evinced by their not being named after a mythical beast. They can be addicted to Wikipedia, but realize that in the end it's just a hobby rather than a religion. Partly for this reason, they tend to shrug off harsh language or personal attacks. Nonetheless, like their namesake they may be armed with sharp claws that can surprise an unwary predator.
If they find themselves getting too engrossed on Wikipedia, they may force themselves to engage in some other activities to still have something to chat about with those in the real world. The Wikicareer of a WikiSloth can go several ways; either their contributions remain occasional or become more so, or they find Wikipedia a very enjoyable hobby and become a frequent editor. They also may go through spates of editing, or move on to their next enthusiasm.
How to identify a WikiSloth
editYou may spot a WikiSloth by their lighthearted or laid back attitude to editing. Or look for the userbox {{User wikipedia/WikiSloth}} on a user's user page, or place this on your own.
A WikiSloth who is feeling particularly active long enough to do so may identify him/herself by displaying a sloth at the top of the page next to the user's name. The following code should produce a small sloth at the top of the page: {{Wikipedia:WikiSloth/topicon}}
| Code | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{Template:User wikipedia/WikiSloth}} |
|
Usage |
See also
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