Psiram
 | |
| Commercial? | no |
|---|---|
Type of site | Wiki Blog Forum |
| Available in | English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian |
| Owner | Anonymous |
| Created by | Anonymous |
| Launched | July 2007 |
Alexa rank | 50.000-60000 |
Psiram.com (until July 2012: Esowatch) is an Internet project founded in 2007 with articles critical of esotericism, conspiracy theories and pseudoscience in CAM. The platform offers a Wiki, a Blog and a forum. The Psiram wiki is based on MediaWiki-Software. In September 2013, the German wiki is the largest with 2,692 articles ; the French is second with 256 articles and the English is the third with 95 articles.[1]
Anonymity
All authors use anonymous nicknames, and the site's owner is unknown. The domain is registered via a company in Hong Kong. The anonymity is explained as due to negative experiences by identifiable critics of New Age beliefs. New authors can register after a check on their abilities.[2]
Public reception
The first major public reception was 2008 in the German online magazine Telepolis.[2] Psiram's article on Prahlad Jani was referenced in the science blog Pharyngula,[3] and their article on night milk crystals was referenced by the Guardian.[4]
A German court based a decision partly on arguments collected by Esowatch.[5] Further, data from Esowatch was used in an inquiry in the Austrian parliament.[6]
References
- ↑ See the Psiram website at Informative Artikel zur Aufklärung über irrationale Glaubenssysteme
- 1 2 Kunow, Fabian (May 17, 2008). "Licht ins Dunkel des Irrationalen". Telepolis. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ↑ "Physiology explains it all". Pharyngula (blog). Retrieved May 17, 2011.
- ↑ Connolly, Kate (October 18, 2010). "German night milk may aid insomniacs". The Guardian (London). Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "VG Saarlouis Urteil vom 9.9.2010, 3 K 573/09". November 9, 2010.
- ↑ "6639/J XXIV. GP". Retrieved May 13, 2011.