I've been wiki-pnotized

May 27, 2008 8:04 PM

Is there a word to describe being sucked into wikipedia; inadvertently wasting hours of time by delving deeper and deeper into articles, interesting link by interesting link? If not, can you help me come up with a clever term for this phenomenon?
posted by (bb|[^b]{2}) to computers & internet (47 answers total)

I call it Wikipedia hopping, myself.
posted by mostlymartha at 8:09 PM on May 27, 2008

I call it "geeking out".
posted by moxiedoll at 8:12 PM on May 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

Clicktrance is my word for it.
posted by ook at 8:12 PM on May 27, 2008 [5 favorites]

I call it the wikihole.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 8:13 PM on May 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wikipedia has a page on Wikiholism, though it mainly refers to compulsive Wikipedia editing rather than reading.
posted by Rhaomi at 8:14 PM on May 27, 2008

I call it "Wiknotized".
posted by Verdandi at 8:16 PM on May 27, 2008 [2 favorites]

I like wiki-pnotized. Your question reminds me of this.
posted by clearlydemon at 8:18 PM on May 27, 2008

Getting your Wiki on!
Wikiwandering
Wiknosis
posted by Mr_Chips at 8:19 PM on May 27, 2008

"Tree of consciousness", perhaps?
posted by Johnny Assay at 8:21 PM on May 27, 2008

"Browsing Wikipedia."
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 8:21 PM on May 27, 2008

Wikmatized
posted by iconomy at 8:21 PM on May 27, 2008

"falling down the rabbit hole" (I know, thats 5 words.)
posted by Cranialtorque at 8:25 PM on May 27, 2008

Hahaha.

I also call it going "down the rabbit hole." Not sure where that came from.

Not just wikipedia, either - the whole linky tubes.
posted by Miko at 8:27 PM on May 27, 2008

The ADD parlance is "hyperfocusing," which could be on pretty much anything. In this case, you'd be hyperfocusing on Wikipedia.
posted by streetdreams at 8:43 PM on May 27, 2008

wikiwhipped
posted by maloon at 8:54 PM on May 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wikidiction
I'm sure a 12 step program is in the works.
posted by rancidchickn at 9:17 PM on May 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

xkcd had a comic called 'the problem with wikipedia'. The discussion might have something in it.
posted by jacalata at 9:27 PM on May 27, 2008

"tabbed browsing"
posted by Solon and Thanks at 9:28 PM on May 27, 2008

clearlydemon, thanks for linking to that set of comics: having browsed a few, I think I can confidently say my dance card is now filled for at least the next half-hour. Clearly the wikistraction effect is not limited to wikipedia alone. (on preview, looks like jacalata's got it too...)

Oh yeah, and that's my offering: wikistraction.
posted by roombythelake at 9:32 PM on May 27, 2008

Day Spent On Internet Comes Full Circle
posted by roombythelake at 9:34 PM on May 27, 2008

It's called curiosity.
posted by king walnut at 9:36 PM on May 27, 2008 [3 favorites]

How about wikipedantic?
posted by skewedoracle at 9:38 PM on May 27, 2008

Well, not wikipedophilia.
posted by jamjam at 10:06 PM on May 27, 2008 [3 favorites]

My friends and I have been calling this "WikiDrift" for awhile now.
posted by elwoodwiles at 10:24 PM on May 27, 2008

I second clicktrance since it applies to the internet in general and not just wikipedia. This can happen if I spend long enough on sourceforge or freshmeat chasing down elusive niche software. Or following bloggers link/blog rolls consecutively.
posted by chrisbucks at 10:29 PM on May 27, 2008

You're a wikipediac. You need a wikipediatrician.
posted by aletheia at 10:53 PM on May 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

2nd wikiwandering
posted by pompomtom at 11:00 PM on May 27, 2008

Wikipediolatry?
Wikicupidity?
posted by jamjam at 11:08 PM on May 27, 2008

WikiMania

Wikiphilia
posted by KokuRyu at 11:14 PM on May 27, 2008

riding the clickstream.
posted by robotot at 11:38 PM on May 27, 2008

I'd call it a wiki-trip, or perhaps a wiki-binge.
posted by Anthony84 at 11:39 PM on May 27, 2008

This is obviously wwilfing. (What was I looking for, again?)
posted by sour cream at 11:54 PM on May 27, 2008

going on a wiki-tangent, or surfing the wikiwave
posted by blackunicorn at 12:47 AM on May 28, 2008

Wikicoma.
posted by daisyk at 3:36 AM on May 28, 2008

2nding wikicoma.
posted by Zarkonnen at 4:02 AM on May 28, 2008

I have no word to contribute, but XKCD has a good graphic depiction...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:37 AM on May 28, 2008

I usually call it "a day at work"
posted by Shohn at 4:55 AM on May 28, 2008 [1 favorite]

We call it "falling into" whatever. "I fell into the Intertubes... I don't know what happened between 4pm and 5pm." "Sorry, I fell into Wikipedia."

From when someone goes to the bathroom and doesn't return for a long time. "What happened, did you fall in?"
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:20 AM on May 28, 2008

Wiking.

(not to be confused with a viking, and usable both as noun and verb.)
posted by monocultured at 6:23 AM on May 28, 2008

Info-Snacking
posted by Wild_Eep at 6:37 AM on May 28, 2008

Wiki-bation?
posted by aliasless at 8:44 AM on May 28, 2008

I like "wikipedisis" -- a portmanteau of wikipedia and pedesis=Brownian motion -- to describe the random walks I take through it.
posted by Westringia F. at 9:32 AM on May 28, 2008

Er... wikipedesis, rather.
posted by Westringia F. at 9:36 AM on May 28, 2008

Thirding clicktrance.
posted by reductiondesign at 12:06 PM on May 28, 2008

Clicktrance. If you thought wikipedia was bad, you've never experienced tvtropes.
posted by stoneegg21 at 6:08 PM on May 28, 2008

Wikida wikida whack.
posted by Beardman at 11:32 PM on May 28, 2008

This has always happened to me whenever I looked in a dictionary, encylopedia or almost any kind of reference book for that matter- surely you can't just look up one word at a time? Having to physically turn the pages never put me off. An ecstacy of cross-referencing? Infomania?
posted by Coaticass at 5:22 AM on May 29, 2008 [1 favorite]