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[[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page Rational Wiki]] is a skeptics' wiki. It was created as a negative reaction to Wiki/{{Conservapedia}}. There have been some efforts to move it more in the direction of debunking, refuting, or poking fun at pseudoscience, religious fundamentalism, authoritarianism and other things that it doesn't like, per its stated mission statement:
# Analyzing and refuting pseudoscience and the anti-science movement.
# Analyzing and refuting crank ideas.
# Explorations of authoritarianism and fundamentalism.
# Analysis and criticism of how these subjects are handled in the media.
Functionally, it's more like a group blog than an encyclopedia (which they themselves acknowledge), though it also has quite a lot in common with Robert Todd Carroll's [[http://www.skepdic.com Skeptic's Dictionary]].
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!!It contains examples of the following:
* AntagonistInMourning:
** Wiki/{{Conservapedia}} administrator TK passed away in December 2010, eliciting this response on [=RationalWiki=].
** RW noticed his absence and did the legwork to learn of his passing, while CP only seemed to learn of it afterwards (so quickly that it appears that they learned from RW), but have barely even noted the passing of one of their most prolific editors and authoritarian admins.
* ArmouredClosetGay: Described as part of [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Haggard%27s_Law Haggard's Law]], which states, "The louder and more frequent one's objections to homosexuality are, the more likely one is to be a homosexual." It even has a link back to the Armored Closet Gay trope page.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:
** The article on types of people that go to hell states that on the lowest circle of hell you find traitors, child molesters, and [[{{Firefly}} people who talk in the theater]].
** Also smokers aren't looked upon too highly and mentions of the dangers of smoking seem to pop up in the most unlikely of places.
** There is a rather passionate hatred of Objectivists (or "Randroids") and of Creator/AynRand too. In the name of synergy and [[RefugeInAudacity absurdity]] there is short section on the Objectivism article that claims that Ayn Rand (or one of her followers) claimed it was a moral responsibility to smoke since she smoked. [[PoesLaw Ironically]] even some of the people there didn't know whether this was a joke or not at first. What the founder of the philosophy had to say about smoking four decades ago has to do with the philosophy itself is never really explained.
* BasementDweller: They coined the LogicalFallacy [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_cellarium argumentum ad cellarium]] concerning the frequent accusations of this on the Internet. [[HypocriticalHumour Of course, that doesn't stop them from using it themselves.]]
* CatchPhrase: Goat. This is probably a reference to Matthew 25:31-46, where Jesus says that in the end times he will separate the sheep (his followers) from the goats (his detractors). Or maybe it's just because goats are awesome and tasty. Take your pick.
* CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys: They actually (jokingly) mention the term in their [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/France France]] article.
* ClusterFBomb: [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/George_Carlin Their article]] on GeorgeCarlin, [[SirSwearsalot appropriately enough]].
* CursedWithAwesome: If you've been around long enough (a few weeks or days) and are generally thought to be [[{{Conservapedia}} trusworthy]], you will be demoted to janitor (i.e. sysop). (Frivolous block wars are common, and encouraged; fortunately, in addition to non-serious block reasons (such as one that outright says "block war") there are options to make said blocks last only a few seconds, which help differentiate them from serious blocks.) If you anger the gods sufficiently, you may even be further demoted to the lowly, despicable position of bureaucrat.
* DeadpanSnarker:
** In the [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Global_flood#Fossil_layers article disproving a global flood]]: "How was the fossil record sorted in an order convenient for evolution if they were laid down in the turmoil of a single flood? That is usually dismissed with a hand wave by saying the animals quickly sorted each other out based on their ability to compete for the shrinking high ground. The theory also fails to take into account fossilized plants, which show the same type of order as animal fossils, and which are not noted for their ability to flee rising floodwaters."
** A similar example of deadpan snark is found on the page regarding the [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Peanut_butter_argument Peanut Butter Argument]] that life should arise naturally in a jar of peanut butter if evolution is true: "Critics of the argument have pointed out that sealed jars of peanut butter are not, generally speaking, billion year-old volcanic environments rich in ammonia and methane, being bombarded by high energy cosmic rays."
* DystopiaIsHard: {{Discussed}} in their analysis of authoritarianism and [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Dictator dictatorship]] and used an example of why authoritarianism is ultimately a bad idea.
* FanNickname: They makes up names for all of their friends at Conservapedia.
** Aschlafly is referred to as Assfly
** Conservative is referred to as Kendoll
** Karajou is referred to as Karajerk or Kowardjou
** Jinxmchue is referred to as Jinx
** There were numerous names for TK, including [=TeamKiller=], [=TrollKing=] and [=TheKnife=]
* EditWar: On RW, edit wars and even wheel wars are extremely common. So common, in fact, that ''accidental'' edit wars have become an issue - sysops assuming vandalism where there is none and performing knee-jerk reverts of edits without reading them, the original contributor re-adding the edit, and things kicking off from there.
* TheFundamentalist: Described [[http://rationalwiki.com/wiki/Fundamentalism here.]]
* FurryFandom: Has a surprisingly (and ''refreshingly'') fair and level-handed page about them [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Furry_fandom here]]. Quite possibly one of the more accurate descriptions of the fandom to be found on the internet.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: The original iteration of the site, which was a wiki with a strong, intentional political bias focused primarily on criticism of one website...created to counter [[{{Conservapedia}} a wiki with a strong, intentional political bias]] focused primarily on criticism of [[{{Wikipedia}} one website]]. [[SubvertedTrope Over the years, however, as Conservapedia has continued to fall into irrelevance, RationalWiki has mostly moved on from its obsession with Schlafly's site, and most of the many articles on Conservapedia minutiae have been consolidated or deleted.]]
* IfJesusThenAliens: The article on [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Crank_magnetism crank magnetism]] provides a [[JustifiedTrope justification]] of the trope.
* InsaneTrollLogic: Described in their page on "[[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Not_even_wrong Not Even Wrong]]", referring "to any statement, argument or explanation that can be neither correct nor incorrect, because it fails to meet the criteria by which correctness and ''in''correctness are determined." Given their skeptic and debunking mission, they run into this kind of thing a lot.
* JustForPun: A regular feature
-->"[[http://rationalwiki.com/wiki/Indigo_child Indigo child]]" is not to be confused with "In dingo child", which is what your child might become if you misplace it in Australia.
* KickedUpstairs: Any user who sticks around for a while and regularly makes edits will be saddled with the tedious responsibility of being a (ugh) Sysop.
* TheLabRat: Rational Wiki consists mainly of science geeks (with a few actual scientists and physicians scattered here and there). It is sometimes referred to as Rat Wiki, and its members are supposedly referred to as 'Rats' by those opposed to the site, although there is precisely zero evidence of anyone actually using this terminology.
* MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext: As described in the ''ComicBook/ChickTracts'' article:
--->This panel from a Chick tract makes even less sense in context. (It really does, [[http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0094/0094_01.asp check if you don't believe us]].) Also, goats.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/User:Ironclad Ironclad]] describes himself as a "liberal, homosexual, socialist, atheist, black, British, history-degree-educated [=PhD=]-level academic bodybuilder".
* NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer: On their article about [[{{Conservapedia}} Andrew Schlafly]], to let us know that he really wants to make his own translation of Literature/TheBible, as he thinks that every current translation is too "liberal", applying CanonDisContinuity by removing some verses that are the basic tenets of Christianity in the process, even though he admits to having no knowledge of the original languages.
* OverlyLongGag: [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Ted_Haggard Ted Haggard's article]] constantly states that he is [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday not gay]].
* PoesLaw: [[http://rationalwiki.com/wiki/Poe%27s_Law Here]].
* PromotedFanboy: Editor Pal MD is a fairly well-regarded medical blogger, first on Science Blogs and now on [[http://scientopia.org/blogs/whitecoatunderground/ Scientopia]].
* RoguesGallery: The site has a [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Category:Pissed_at_us page]] devoted to people who have attacked it, many of them after themselves being attacked in [=RationalWiki=] articles. Amongst them are...
** DesignatedVillain: Conservapedia
** TheRival: LessWrong
** ThoseWackyNazis: Metapedia
** CloudCuckoolander: Dennis Markuze
** VampireHunter: Seán Manchester
** ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Anglo-Saxon Foundation
** ConspiracyTheorist: YouKnowIAmRight
** StrawFeminist: Cathy Brennan
* RuleOfFunny: In full effect.
* RunningGag:
** Goats
** Referring to Conservapedia as Schlafly's blog.
** Ironclad's rebuttal of Conservapedia's World History Lectures makes constant references to liberals eating kittens.
* SarcasmMode: Prevalent, for example, in the article [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Fairies "Fairies"]]. Often these tend to be BlatantLies followed with the marker [[superscript:Do You Believe That?]] to hint to the reader that the author didn't actually believe that.
* ScienceIsBad and MeasuringTheMarigolds: Completely inverted.
* SelfDemonstratingArticle: [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/English-only_movement Notably once inverted.]]
* SelfDeprecation - Edited by [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Wiki#Comparison_chart "Drunk rationalists, goat fetishists"]].
* SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness: It's somewhere between TVTropes & Wiki/{{Uncyclopedia}}. The main article on [[{{Conservapedia}} Andrew Schlafly]] is one of the few that is explicitly stated to be intended to be completely serious, though a parody article on him also exists. Regardless of the silliness or seriousness of a specific article, unless it's in the separate 'Fun' or 'Essay' sections of the site accuracy is non-negotiable (at least in theory).
* TakeThat: Mostly against fundamentalists and authoritarians, though no one is completely spared, not even [[TakeThatUs the site itself]].
** The wiki's origins as an anti-Conservapedia still tend to show clearly in any article about a right-wing politician or political position; they don't even pretend to be neutral.
** Even ThisVeryWiki is subject to a little criticism.
* ThereAreNoGirlsOnTheInternet: Addressed in [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Essay:Gender_and_Sysops Gender and Sysops]], which aimed to encourage a more balanced gender representation.
* ThereIsNoSuchThingAsNotability: Although there is such a thing as "missionality", lack of which may get an article deleted.
* ThingOMeter: The [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Irony_meter Irony Meter]]
* {{Understatement}}: "Critics of [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Peanut_butter_argument the argument]] have pointed out that sealed jars of peanut butter are not, generally speaking, billion year-old volcanic environments rich in ammonia and methane, being bombarded by high energy cosmic rays."
* {{Troll}}: Marcus Cicero, LBHS Cheerleader, TK, Rob Smith, D Morris, take your pick. The site's dangerously lenient ban policy results in it being a veritable troll heaven--it takes weeks for the site's members to even decide that they might want to possibly ban someone, and even then it's pretty much always a short-term block that does little to actually stop the troll from vandalizing the site.
* TVTropesWillRuinYourLife: their now-deleted article Conservapedia:Boycott listed visiting TV Tropes as an alternative to reading {{Conservapedia}} and laughing at it. They added the comment "Kiss your spare time good-bye."
* TheWikiRule: There's a wiki called '[[http://rationalwikiwiki.org/wiki/Main_Page RationalWikiWiki]]' which exists to catalogue and analyze the history of the [=RationalWiki=] community; it exists mostly as a joke, but has still managed to accumulate several hundred articles. There's even [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Fun:RationalWikiWikiWiki RationalWikiWikiWiki]]. That one exists ''entirely'' [[RuleOfThree as a joke]].
* WikiVandal: They call it [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Wandalism Wandalism]].
* WorthyOpponent: The general RW opinion of former Conservapedia sysop [[http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Conservapedia:JessicaT JessicaT]], the TokenGoodTeammate of CP's admins. (Who turned out to be a sockpuppet for RW user Psygremlin.)