Conworlds:Robballism
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Robballism is a left-wing[1] sociopolitical and philosophical method of analysis, which uses a materialist interpretation of literary development to understand social conflict and social transformation on wikis. Robballism originates from the works of late geminal Althistorian philosopher Robballgamer2009, but in addition, Robballist philosophy has developed over time into various branches and schools of thought, while also having a profound influence on the development of wiki social theory more broadly.
In Robballist philosophy, labor performed by users to satisfy their material needs is the fundamental basis for wiki society, and the development of "economic" systems for the purpose of this creative production primarily defines the emergence of sociopolitical systems, such as wiki administration and culture. According to Robball, creativism emerges as historical necessity, due to the increasingly unsustainable internal contradictions of wiki society, which manifest in the form of class conflict. The tendency of the userbase to seek the ability to create unimpeded culminates in the overthrow of administrative control over the means of editing, which in its final form leads to the establishment of a classless, administratively equal wiki society.
Overview
Robballism views social phenomena within an online community as the result of material conditions and literary activities required to fulfill the needs of its users. In the The Althistorian Ideology, Robball describes the act of contributing to the wiki as marking the "fundamental characteristic that defines a user from that of any other internet participant".[2] Wiki history derives from the necessity of labor by said users to ensure the perpetuation of the wiki and their existence as users. In pursuit of contributing to the wiki, users advance "forces of production", which include the technical means and knowledge used to produce and maintain content on the wiki, and enter into definite social "relations of production" appropriate to the level of productive forces on the wiki, which effect how they are able to contribute and make use of content. The sum of these relations can be called a wiki's mode of production or perpetuation, which forms the "economic" basis by which the wiki is constituted. Accordingly, the manner in which users produce content on the wiki gives rise to corresponding legal and political institutions, cultural systems, and ideologies. These latter social constructions (which may constitute a "wiki-state") are thus constituted by but separate from the the community at-large component of the wiki, also known as the "userbase".
Wiki society may be called "harmonious" in so far as a wiki is functionally useful to the userbase, which entails the technical aspects of retaining existing contributions as well as growing the userbase.[3] However, as forces of production are advanced through new developments, the existing manner of organization on the wiki becomes outstripped and made obsolete, creating conflict between the two which hinders further progress. This conflict manifests at the level of struggle between wiki classes. In his outline of Althistian society, Robball classified three previous modes of production—the primitive, imperial, and gameist. In the latter, a minority "moderator class" comes to predominance through initiatives such as map games, gaining command of the administration of the wiki, and conflicts with the userbase majority that produces content for the moderators in game-like enterprises.[4] In his analysis of contemporary wiki society, Robball described late-stage gameism as producing the conditions for the userbase to outperfom and extend past the control of the moderators, creating the conditions by which the "userbase directly takes command of their own administration, in the final battle for wiki democracy."[5] The command of the userbase in its administration is a wiki-state deemed the "adminship of the userbase",[6] which gradualy disperses administrative functions to an increasing number of users, such that the majority holds collective control over production.[7]
Notes
- ↑ In the system of Multiverse Manifesto and the Althistorian parliament, the Robballist fraction occupies the left-most position of the contemporary political spectrum.
- ↑ Robballgamer2009, "The Althistorian Ideology," in Collected Works (hereafter "CW"), ed. Tabitha Xinran, vol. 1 (Las Vegas: Althistory Publishers, 2024), 51.
- ↑ Robballgamer2009, "A Contribution to the Critique of Althistorian Society," in CW, 1:38.
- ↑ Robballgamer2009, "Althistorian Ideology," in CW, 1:53.
- ↑ Robballgamer2009, "Althistorian Ideology," in CW, 1:54.
- ↑ Alternatively, in his initial formulation Robball employed the term "dictatorship of the userbase", and also employs "wrtiers" and similar terms interchangeably with "userbase". E.g. Official Sticks and Stones Constitution and Discord Laws (2023): 1.
- ↑ Robballgamer2009, "Althistorian Ideology," in CW, 1:55.
Bibliography
- Gamer, Robert B. Collected Works. Edited by Tabitha Xinran. Vol. 1. Las Vegas: Althistory Publishers, 2024.