Reader query on the philosophy-job wiki

A reader recently wrote in:

Regarding your excellent blog philosophers cocoon, have you ever thought of trying to use it as a way to generate some momentum for the creation of a stable, well-publicised philosophy jobs market wiki? The current one is something of a bust, and its URL has been down (at least for me) the past few days, possibly signalling the end. 

Of course, my suggestion is that you take this on! But I do think the job market wiki is helpful so that candidates, especially isolated ones from small departments,  better know where they stand re: various applications. I wonder if you might consider making a post on this as a way to generate interest in its creation and maintenance. It's kind of strange that this thing has already had its heyday pre the proliferation of social networks and greater uptake of the internet, suggesting that with a bit of enthusiasm (and a great deal of dedication on the part of one or more persons), it could be a real hit!

Unfortunately, I have already taken quite a bit on--and have some important deadlines to make in the next few month--so starting up and maintaining a job-wiki isn't feasible for me at the moment. However, since I suspect there probably more than a few job-candidates out there who would like a wiki, I figured it might be a good idea to share this post for discussion to see how much demand there is for a wiki and whether there's anyone out there who would do it. I would also be happy to advertise the wiki here if and when it happens.

Do people want a wiki? If so, is there anyone who might be willing to set up and run one?

Comments

[Craig]

For what it is worth, there was a fair amount of false information on the wiki last year. I'm not sure what the signal-to-noise ratio was, but for the jobs about which I had reliable information, the wiki was often 50/50 accurate at best.

[Trevor Hedberg]

I am not convinced that there is any great benefit created by a philosophy jobs wiki. Often the information that gets posted is false or misleading. And even when the information is accurate, it usually only serves as a source of psychological frustration. I never checked the wiki last year and will never check one in future searches. You'll learn about the interviews you got (and didn't get) eventually, regardless of whether they get posted to a wiki. Most faculty with whom I have interacted strongly advise not checking the wiki, including several who checked the wiki obsessively out of either anxiety or curiosity when they were on the market themselves.

If anyone affiliated with this blog were going to undertake the project of maintaining a job wiki, I'd want to hear a substantive explanation of why such a resource would actually be helpful for job candidates rather than just an unnecessary source of stress and misinformation.

[Derek]

Back when I was on the job market, I found the wiki to be useful for knowing when it was time to give up hope for the following year. I think the stress of job market would be there either way, but at least with the wiki I could stop half-expecting that I might still hear something. It was easier for me to move on after that. It may not be a benefit worth the costs, but it is something.

[Amanda]

I never used the wiki, not my thing. But if it helps others relieve stress, then sure no reason for someone not to do one(it would personally only add to my stress, but people are different).

[Marcus Arvan]

My personal experience coheres with Trevor's remarks. For several years, I checked the wiki incessantly, and it did little more than waste my time and increase my overall stress levels. My last couple of years on the market, my spouse made me promise not to check it, and I kept that promise--and the benefits of not checking were clear to me: I went on with my life, doing the things I needed to do, avoiding the daily disappointment of seeing the jobs I wasn't going to be interviewed for appearing on the wiki.

All that being said, I agree with Amanda--which is why I ran this post. Although I found the wiki unhelpful, people are different--and I don't want to legislate from on high, as it were, whether the wiki is "good", "bad", or whatever. I think it should be up for people to decide for themselves--and this blog/post is simply a forum where people can discuss the matter openly!