Wikipedia talk:The parable of the wildflowers

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Interesting, Barkeep49, and seems deeply philosophical I can't help feeling that it will be over the heads of a lot of readers. In fact I can't make up my mind if it was about WP:OWN or prolific but low quality new page reviewing (now that's an area that needs a lot of TLC). Perhaps it's neither. I'm curious. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 23:42, 3 November 2021 (UTC)

@Kudpung I hope readers take from it whatever message that they will. However, I will confess that I hadn't considered it in the context of NPP, though the parable definitely can apply there at times (unfortunately). Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 00:07, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

Hmm... Barkeep49, be interesting to know in what contexts one would link to it. Perhaps WTT could shed some light. Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 02:12, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

@Kudpung, Of course I won't do something so stupid as to narrow down the context of a parable. It has aspects of OWN, prolific editors and error rates, people who need to slow down, not listening, importance of context and OTHERSTUFFEXISTS, why AGF isn't enough and many more problems that this sort of community project faces. People should take from it what they will - though I expect the people who need to take something from it... won't. Worm^TT(talk) 09:04, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

So on reflecting more on the feedback I've been given, both onwiki and off, I decided that perhaps a bit of an expansion will serve the parable well while still allowing readers to get what they want from it. I of course do agree with WTT in terms of some of the ideas that a reader might take away from this. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 16:07, 4 November 2021 (UTC)

• I'm not quite sure what Barkeep is trying to say here. That one person's weed is another person's wild flower? Anyway, here's some anecdotal observations from my personal experience.

Wild flowers by the Grand Union Canal running through Ealing

1. I'm a member of a litter-picking group in my borough which is so effective that it recently won a Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. We don't have a position on weeds/wildflowers but especially like to clean up green spaces such as parks, rivers and reserves.
2. I recently met the organisers of the Selborne Society – an article that I started 7 years ago. They are much reduced from their heyday and now just supervise Perivale Wood. As this is a nature reserve, their policy is mainly to keep the public out altogether.
3. When I find a weed/wild flower in the garden, I like to identify it so I can understand it better. To do this, I use iNaturalist which works very well. My observations are logged and confirmed in its excellent workflow and they populate a database which can then be used by naturalists and scientists for their studies.
4. I may cull some weeds which are invasive, such as ground elder, but tolerate others such as nettles, which are good for insects. And I support the No Mow May campaign as the monoculture of traditional lawns is just a "green desert".
5. The local authority now thinks the same way. A bowling green in the local park has been converted into a wild flower garden and they also plant great swathes of wild flowers across its open flood-meadows.
6. Here on Wikipedia, the most recent article which I listed for rescue was seed-counting machine saying "The traditional English proverb is that "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow". Americans may be more familiar with Johnny Appleseed. Here's an orphan seedling which needs watering."
7. Other articles that I've started which touch on this include Back to nature, Chelsea Fringe and Sharawadgi.
8. Mao famously said to "let a hundred flowers bloom" but then persecuted those who took him at his word. Wikipedia often seems like this as editors are encouraged to be bold but then subjected to blooming sanctions. So it goes...

Andrew🐉(talk) 00:14, 8 November 2021 (UTC)

Let the sanctions flourish among the ankles of the reckless  ;) ——Serial 15:27, 8 November 2021 (UTC)

• A good, sad little essay about happy little flowers. Thanks! jp×g 13:47, 8 November 2021 (UTC)

• Today is Poppy Day – named after the wild flowers (right) which flourished on the battlefields of the Great War. I'd show you the picture that I took of the sea of poppies at the Tower of London in 2014 but that's forbidden here! I released this under a CC licence but some self-appointed experts on copyright have decided that you're not allowed to see it. I actually worked at the UK's Intellectual Property Office and reckon that they are wrong but so it goes on Wikipedia where the Lords of Misrule hold sway.

To go with this, the appropriate music is Where Have All the Flowers Gone?. I always liked Marlene Dietrich's version in German. Gerda may especially appreciate this and it's good that English and Germans can now collaborate here rather than trying to kill each other. "Wann wird man je verstehn?"

Andrew🐉(talk) 11 November 2021

yes, I appreciate --Gerda Arendt (talk) 06:58, 12 November 2021 (UTC)