Rogue editors started a competing Wikipedia that's only about roads
Wikipedia’s decision to delete thousands of highly detailed U.S. road articles has pushed a group of editors to contribute instead to AARoads, a separate wiki dedicated entirely to highways and roads. Commenters use this episode to probe longstanding tensions between inclusionism and strict notability rules, questioning whether a single general-purpose encyclopedia should host exhaustive niche content or whether specialized wikis, federated systems, or “extended” low-threshold knowledge bases are a better fit. Many see the move as both a natural evolution of the wiki ecosystem and a missed opportunity for Wikipedia to embrace broader, more experimental models of user-generated knowledge.
Scope of Wikipedia vs. Niche Wikis
- Many argue some deep “rabbit hole” detail (e.g., every minor road, every Pokémon) doesn’t fit a general-purpose encyclopedia and is better on specialized wikis.
- Others counter that “worthless to you” isn’t a valid criterion; Wikipedia can host multiple layered articles and use summary/“main article”/“list of X” patterns to manage detail.
- There’s concern that too much low-interest content leads to outdated pages, easier insertion of false info, and more complex maintenance and automation.
Notability, Deletionism, and Original Research
- A recurring complaint is that tightening notability and sourcing rules has led to mass deletions (e.g., roads, Olympic athletes, area codes), seen as demoralizing to contributors.
- Defenders say notability based on reliable secondary sources is core to what makes Wikipedia different from search engines and LLMs.
- Others find it ironic that material barred as “original research” on Wikipedia becomes citable once moved to an external site.
- Some suggest a parallel “extended” or “unofficial” Wikipedia layer, or federated sub-wikis, to host non-notable but well-structured content.
User Experience, Accessibility, and Expertise
- Several comments highlight that technical/math pages are often inaccessible unless the reader already knows the topic; project pages exist within Wikipedia to encourage more understandable intros.
- Some prefer specialized math and science resources (e.g., MathWorld, nLab, other math/engineering wikis) over Wikipedia.
- Ideas appear for graph-based or dependency-aware wikis that auto-generate prerequisite explanations or “custom textbooks.”
Alternative Platforms and Ecosystem
- Many see the roads fork as “system working as intended”: niche interests should spin out into their own wikis (AARoads, SABRE, WegenWiki, fandom wikis, etc.).
- Others lament that not having a broad, inclusionist Wikipedia left space for ad-heavy, for‑profit hosts like Fandom.
- Non-Wikipedia Wikimedia projects (Wikibooks, WikiJournal, Wikidata) are mentioned as looser or complementary venues for recipes, books, primary research, and fine-grained entities.
Community Dynamics and Governance
- Experiences with harsh deletions and brusque editors are described as discouraging, especially for newcomers.
- Some argue strong moderation and standards are necessary; others see changing interpretations and “rule performance” by super‑editors as distorting Wikipedia’s original user-focused intent.