Wikipedia

Is Wikipedia the pinnacle of detournement?

If the the act of detournement can use any element from any origin in any combination, regardless of original context, in order form a new relationship, then detournement blows apart the conventional way of categorizing and understanding the world.

Wikipedia, as a kind of king of free education, does not expect people to detourne the knowledge on its database. The constant reminders that each and every section of the site can be edited (the hyperlinks could drive you mad), however, always present that opportunity. What is key, though, is that the Wikipedia community will not stand for any kind of transgression from the dominant understandings of a well-known object, so that detournements are limited to minor issues and newly-created topics. The self-policing of Wikipedia works against the inviting cry of editme! and the constant demand for the citations that Debord denounces shows how far Wikipedia is from being the ultimate avenue of detournement.

It's still closer than anywhere else, though, in that the masses control the information that is spread. And the flexibility of digital text allows for immediate improvement. And the knowledge is free.