What Wikipedia Taught Me About Bureaucracy

Nominally, Wikipedia is not a bureaucracy.

On its Wikipedia namespace, which consists of Wikipedia pages about Wikipedia, there is page called What Wikipedia is not and a section on that page called Wikipedia is not a bureaucracy.

But, actually, it is - according to another page on the Wikipedia namespace.

Any peek behind the curtain at the Talk page can unveil a nest of tangled snakes fighting away.

Following enough of those fights reveals the power structures in place on Wikipedia.

Bureaucracy is a natural human invention (sociologist Max Weber). Its intention is to protect resources. Efficiency is not in the eye of those who are served but in the eye of how well the resources are managed; efficiency of bureau is adjusted accordingly.

Example: suppose you're distributing food, and you make it extremely easy and fast and efficient to distribute food. You run outta food pretty quick. If you only have a few loaves of bread, you say, now everyone is gonna run around the building three times and the first ten people who finish get a loaf of bread. Or you say, now everyone is gonna fill out a TPS report and if it is not filled out right you don't get a loaf of bread.