Wikipedia:Society for the Preservation of the Quazer Beast
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The Quazer Beast was a mythical creature that was originally said to inhabit the Arctic Ocean. The legend of the Quazer Beast originates from the Enets people who live on the Yenisei River, which drains into the Arctic Ocean. According to the Tale, the Quazer Beast was a monstrous serpent, larger than any whale, with six eyes and two horns which protruded from the back of its head. It lived in the ocean and would guard the Yenisei River mouth, attacking and devouring anyone who ventured out too far. Although this legend was not widely believed, it was still prominent, often used as a warning to children who ventured out too far, and as an explanation for those who never returned from the sea.
The Society for the Preservation of the Quazer Beast is dedicated to the protection of the Quazer Beast and similar articles who find themselves at the mercy of article patrollers. Members pledge to go forth, find these articles, and see that justice is done to them. The Society also believes that the history of the Quazer Beast article serves as an object lesson in the perils of the Wiki model, as explained below.
[edit] The History of the Quazer Beast
The Quazer Beast was first sighted in the article space on October 3, 2005; like many articles on Wikipedia, it was created by an anonymous IP address. The original article [1] contained valid wiki-links, was written coherently, and possessed a certain charm. It did not, however, contain any citations of any kind. This is not uncommon on Wikipedia either. The next day, another IP added links to relevant lists of mythological creatures on Wikipedia [2]. On November 9, 2005, a bot came through and standardized the "See also" section of the article [3]. That same day, another anonymous IP address came through and vandalized the article [4]. This vandalism was reverted almost immediately by an established user. On December 28, the article received a fitting Christmas present: categorization and a spelling correction [5].
This is how matters stood until May 17, 2006, when Mackensen stumbled upon the article during random-article patrol. He was charmed by the story, but realized that he had to list it for deletion [6]. His nomination says it all:
| “ | This seems a perfectly normal article, and I hesitate to disturb its existence. However, I fear that it might be a hoax, as it contains no references, and Google turns up no hits other than Wikipedia and its mirrors. Mackensen (talk) 18:38, 17 May 2006 (UTC) | ” |
The article went through the process of being deleted, and was eventually speedy deleted as a hoax. Roughly three weeks later, when Zoz was browsing his contributions to find a certain article he edited before, he noticed that the Quazer Beast link had mysteriously turned blue again. That ominous sign marked the return of the gruesome Quazer Beast to the article namespace. Knowing there was no time to lose, he took the initiative and listed it for a second AfD. This time, however, Mackensen acted swiftly to save the valiant Quazer Beast from deletion and moved the text into the Wikipedia namespace, where it now stands.
[edit] Purpose
The Quazer Beast was a perfectly normal looking article. After its creation it was categorized, copy-edited, and linked to; it was even vandalized once. That's the standard life cycle for an article. Except that the Quazer Beast is a hoax, and it isn't the only one out there. This Society protects Quazer Beasts by identifying them early on and treating them in a humane fashion, before they are subject to the throes of Articles for Deletion. Realize too, that there are many non-hoax articles which look exactly like the Quazer Beast but are not the Beast itself. Without sources, however, every article can look like a Quazer Beast. It is important that we recognize what is a Quazer Beast and what is not.
[edit] Members
Members of the Society for the Preservation of the Quazer Beast pledge to verify articles when copy-editing them, checking the sources of articles they revert vandalism on, and bringing to the attention of the Society any Quazer Beasts found in the wild.
- Expedition Leader – Mackensen (talk) 01:26, 7 June 2006 (UTC)
- Supervising Cryptozoologist – Cyde↔Weys 01:28, 7 June 2006 (UTC)
- Logistics Officer – Madame Sosostris 01:29, 7 June 2006 (UTC)
- Research Buffoon 1ne 14:56, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
- Userbox Designer --Doc 08:28, 20 September 2006 (UTC)
- Repartee Patroller ++Lar: t/c 13:24, 20 September 2006 (UTC)
- Resident Blithering Idiot and Policy Wonk --Durin 13:40, 7 March 2007 (UTC)
