
Wikipedia policies on what editors should do in the case of impending apocalypse - rayalez
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Terminal_Event_Management_Policy
======
smacktoward
I love this bit:

 _> Archivists should try to make the contents of the encyclopedia available
in as much as circumstances will allow. All contents of the encyclopedia are
available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
License. As this license allows distribution of content in any medium, either
commercially or non-commercially, copies of articles may be bartered for
essentials such as food and water, although "all previous authors of the work
must be attributed" in any copy._

I mean, sure, civilization has completely collapsed and we've all been reduced
to bartering for food and water, but that's no reason to stop paying attention
to licenses!

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strict9
>The datastream will include a specially designed primer, or set of simple
scientific principles and data that would be common to all extraterrestrial
intelligences, providing a common base of reference to enable those receiving
the signal to commence the mammoth task of decoding the encyclopedia. _The
message will be accompanied by a short video message by Wikipedia co-founder
Jimmy Wales, and images required for the re-creation of fundraiser banners._

Yes it's humor, but there's a plan for the _banners_ to live on after the
extinction of mankind.

~~~
ASalazarMX

        IF YOU'RE READING THIS, PLEASE DONATE DNA SEQUENCERS TO RECREATE WIKIPEDIA MAINTAINERS

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smacktoward
If you're interested in this sort of thing, I managed to drag the U.S.
government's Cold War plans for keeping regulatory agencies operating after
World War III out of the depths of classification a few years back. You can
read about and download them here:

[https://jasonlefkowitz.net/2016/11/regulating-the-
apocalypse...](https://jasonlefkowitz.net/2016/11/regulating-the-apocalypse-
inside-the-code-of-emergency-federal-regulations/)

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FabHK
Anyone got any idea what the "primer" [1] represents?

It is vaguely reminiscent of the Pioneer plaque [2], but not really.

EDIT to add: Oh, it's the Arecibo message [3]. Hope the aliens are smarter
than me.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Terminal_Event_Manag...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Terminal_Event_Management_Policy#/media/File:Arecibo_message_bw.svg)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque)

[3]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arecibo_message](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arecibo_message)

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shanxS
It's interesting to see the disinterest of comments so far. It's good to hope
for the best but we cannot eliminate the possibility of catastrophic event.

I was hoping that there would be some plan to download as much information as
possible and send it to orbit (I dont know what will happen after that). And
at same time copying it in several locations across planet in a "easy" to read
format/technology (hard copy, anyone?).

I think there should be a growing body of people downloading dumps of
Wikipedia/arxiv.org (add other such websites) and dumping them in a silo in
local library or basement etc.

But that's just me. Let the down votes begin. =)

~~~
LyndsySimon
A visible satellite in a very stable orbit isn’t a terrible contingency
plan...

~~~
shanxS
Oh yea... and it can constantly transmit data to earth and whoever is
listening can re-create entire dump over time!

~~~
LyndsySimon
On the timescales it would be truly useful, any reasonable power source would
degrade and electronics would fail due to solar radiation. That would be made
worse because (I think) a stable orbit would be outside the Van Allen belts
and subject to stronger radiation.

Physical plates would be best... but honestly, a visible and obviously man
made object in orbit would be in and of itself symbolic and perhaps inspiring
to a follow up civilization if ours were to collapse and enter a dark age.

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AdmiralAsshat
It seems a little grandiose, but at the same time, I can't think of many
projects as critical to the preservation of human history and knowledge as
Wikipedia, so...good on them.

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kichik
Code orange. Level 3 warning. The world is ending in 2 hours. Please:

> check existing articles for typographical errors, errors of fact and style
> issues

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6d6b73
"On the implementation of the TEMP protocol, a laser etched version of
Wikipedia will be created using plates of a resilient alloy to store
miniaturized versions of every page. "

If the TEMP is so severe that Wikipedia will need to close, how they expect to
finish laser etching the whole wikipedia before everyone is dead, or their
power is out for good?

~~~
ASalazarMX
They should print it in discount coupons instead. I know people who will hang
to them until the stores reopen :D

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ixtli
It’s a joke but they (we!) really should have one.

