On 24/09/2007, Earle Martin <wikipedia(a)downlode.org> wrote:
> Someone wrote:
>> No, I consider Wikipaedia an attack site, and do not wish to
>> further Wikipaedia's attacks against individuals.
>
> Sorry, but why is this person still being allowed to post here? It's
> enough of a firehose already without this kind of nonsense.
>
> --
> Earle Martin
> http://downlode.org/
> http://purl.org/net/earlemartin/
So let me get this straight. Wikipaedia has the right to emotionally
hurt, emotionally harass, emotionally abuse, paint in a false light,
defame, or violate the privacy of any individual it does not like, for
whatever reason. These individuals, however, do not have the right
to lift a finger in their defence, nor does anyone else have a right to
speak on their behalves, nor do the Chinese have a right to say
anything at all.
>> ...Brave German Tor exit
>> node operator arrested...
> ...I have sympathy for the
> guy because the police had
> trouble understanding his
> explanation, but really, he
> put himself in that situation
> by allowing random people
> to send bomb threats
> through his computer...
Versus what ... sending bomb threats through ... the MAIL? So, are you
suggesting, equivalently, that we arrest the postal workers in their
homes, confiscate their belongings, because they delivered the
Unabomber's packages?
Doesn't anyone understand responsibility? (Start here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility and get back to us in a few
day's time!)
From
<<http://www.cnet.com/surveillance-state/8301-13739_1-9779225-46.html?ta
g=head>>
"...Tor is a privacy tool designed to allow users to communicate and
browse anonymously on the Internet. It's endorsed by the Electronic
Frontier Foundation http://www.eff.org/ and other civil liberties groups
as a method for whistle blowers and human rights workers to communicate
with journalists. Tor provides anonymous Web-browsing software to
hundreds of thousands of users around the world, according to its
developers. The largest numbers of users are in the United States, the
European Union, and China..."
"...The victim here was a guy accepting risk to give people...ability to
practice free speech. You are not at risk, but he is/was..."
On 27 Sep 2007 at 09:14:15 +0100, "Magnus Manske"
<magnusmanske(a)googlemail.com> wrote:
> > To set the maximum width for the content, put
> > html { width:1280px; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto }
> > in your monobook.css (adapt "1280px" to the width you like)
>
> That would be
> html { max-width:1280px; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto }
> to keep it working normally on smaller screens, sorry.
But aren't there inferior popular browsers that fail to support the
'max-width' attribute?
It would be better to use a relative measurement such as em instead
of px, to allow for it to rescale if the font size is adjusted by
user preference. Otherwise, you can have a situation where somebody
sets their normal text to a large size (due to poor vision or an
extremely high resolution monitor where pixels are very small) and
still ends up with it crammed into a fixed-pixel-width canvas.
--
== Dan ==
Dan's Mail Format Site: http://mailformat.dan.info/
Dan's Web Tips: http://webtips.dan.info/
Dan's Domain Site: http://domains.dan.info/
On 27 Sep 2007 at 00:10:27 -0700, "Matthew Brown" <morven(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
> A photograph of an individual in a public place is by definition not
> private information. What occurs in public is public.
But what happens in Vegas stays there!
--
== Dan ==
Dan's Mail Format Site: http://mailformat.dan.info/
Dan's Web Tips: http://webtips.dan.info/
Dan's Domain Site: http://domains.dan.info/
>> ...why are you wasting YOUR time on it, then?...
> ...Because I like to give people as many opportunities as possible to
pleasantly surprise me...
Then you're not wasting your time, and neither are they (wasting *your*
time)!
This just came across my screen, and I thought it appropriate to share an example and incentive to all of us considering the struggles we're expressing at Wikipedia and wikien-l in trying to get along with each other with patience, tolerance, acceptance, and equivalent consideration. This, by the way, is from "the" US, as in "we the people":
________________________________________
From: broadcast(a)doc.gov
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2007 06-42 am
To: Broadcast
Subject: Training Opportunities
The US Department of Commerce's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is pleased to announce the following training opportunities:
"Moving Beyond Bias"
Audience: All employees
Dates: Thursday, October 11, 2007 - Room B-841A
Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - Room 6057
Time: 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Location: Herbert C. Hoover Building, 14th Street & Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC, US
This session focuses on "micro-nequities" -- subtle, but powerful forms of hidden bias and discrimination. Topics to be addressed include: how hidden bias impacts the organization, morale, productivity, teamwork, and retention of talent; learning to recognize hidden bias in yourself and others; and constructive tools for moving beyond bias. The session will be presented by Jackie Middleton, International Training Consortium, Inc., an accomplished subject matter expert.
"Equal Employment Opportunity for Managers and Supervisors"
Audience: Supervisory employees
Dates: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - Room 6029
Wednesday, November 13, 2007- Room 6057
Time: 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.
Location: Herbert C. Hoover Building, 14th Street & Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC, US
This session is will provide managers and supervisors with an overview of the equal employment opportunity laws, policies, and procedures prohibiting discrimination based on age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, and retaliation. Through case studies and facilitated discussions, participants will learn of their roles and responsibilities in the federal discrimination complaint process, the Department's sexual orientation discrimination complaint procedures, and the reasonable accommodation process. Current trends and developments in civil rights laws, including the No FEAR Act, will also be discussed.
"Harassment: Recognition & Prevention
Audience: All employees
Dates: Thursday, November 1, 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Time: 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.
Location: Herbert C. Hoover Building, Room 6057, 14th Street & Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC, US
This workshop will address definitions of harassment, and determining hostile and unwelcome behavior. Attendees will learn their rights and responsibilities as employees in identifying and addressing workplace harassment. Policies and strategies for addressing and resolving harassment will be explored through film, case studies, and group discussions.
"Harassment: Recognition & Prevention for Supervisors"
Audience: Current managers, supervisors, and team leaders
Dates: Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Time: 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.
Location: Herbert C. Hoover Building, Room 6057, 14th Street & Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC, US
Attendees will learn of their roles and responsibilities as managers, supervisors, and team leaders, in recognizing and preventing workplace harassment. This session is highly interactive and will focus managers on developing successful proactive strategies for effective prevention of allegations of hostile environment and harassment.
"Equal Employment Opportunity for Employees"
Audience: All employees
Dates: Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Time: 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.
Location: Herbert C. Hoover Building, Room 6057, 14th Street & Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC, US
This session is will provide employees with a brief overview of the equal employment opportunity laws, policies and procedures prohibiting discrimination based on age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, and retaliation. Using filmed scenarios, participants will examine typical supervisor/employee conflicts, and develop strategies for addressing and minimizing these issues. Attendees will also learn about current trends and developments in civil rights laws, including the No FEAR Act.
"Cross-Cultural Awareness"
Audience: All employees
Date: Thursday, November 29, 2007
Time: 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.
Location: Herbert C. Hoover Building, Room TBA, 14th Street & Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC, US
This experiential and interactive workshop will provide participants with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to promote cross-cultural understanding and sensitivity, and to enable participants to work effectively as a group of diverse professionals. The session will be presented by Jackie Middleton, International Training Consortium, Inc., an accomplished subject matter expert.
--
There is no charge for any of these sessions. However, space is limited to the first 30 participants, and pre-registration is required. Please indicate your job title when you submit the e-mail for registration. As with other training opportunities, supervisory approval is required prior to registration...These workshop are physically accessible to people with disabilities...sign language interpretation...other auxiliary aids...
> Earlier: "...When someone presents a
> novel point, or a new way of presenting
> an argument, I feel enriched, even when
> I disagree..."
Yes, yes! You've got it!
> Earlier: "...When someone presents the
> same argument making the same point
> in the same way, I feel robbed of the
> time it took me to read it..."
Ummm ... why are you wasting YOUR time on it, then?
I think we all have different skimming and filtering skills when
we read, and we each want more or less help from others to compensate.
Me? I would like each of us to set examples of what they would
prefer in a post.
> Earlier: "...Come on, people, we
> can do better than this..."
Yes. Set an example! We can do it! However, I do not expect
anyone to filter for me (other than spam and extended off-topic posts -
and I'm certainly not going to get mad even if they miss that, oops,
just clean it up afterwards).
> Earlier: "...There are times this sad
> state of affairs makes it seem worth
> throwing in the towel on three years
> of work and taking up carpentry,
> just to get away from the sheer
> navel-gazing futility of it all..."
Yes - it's called a vacation. Perhaps we all could use a bit of
off-line hammering on inanimate objects, cutting things into little
pieces, maybe even making something functional and beautiful, or even
just beautiful, all on our own. I LOVE the sheer power and
effectiveness of working on my own.
However, I ain't building Wikipedia on my own, and it ain't
gonna get built and be worth much without ALL of it's community intact.
Great discussion, everyone - I see many people have awoken and
joined in. I always find that it's easier to deal with energy, and
steer it, to get things done, than to spend even more energy just waking
people up, and then being too exhausted and or lethargic to actually do
anything!
> Angus to Peter Blaise (paraphrase): Your point?
Peter Blaise: ... I DO have one ... somewhere ... here ...
I HAVE the Columbia Encyclopedia (and others) on my desk.
But...
I come to Wikipedia NOT just for equivalent and new "articles" as would
appear in print in the olden days, from "certified" and credentialed
academicians.
But, I come to Wikipedia also for - ESPECIALLY for - the *people* on the
discussion/talk pages whose views help me explore beyond the dry
conclusions that made it into the article.
You also ask about my use of the word "passionate". I hope you
understand it better now in contrast to my experience of the articles as
"dry".
Every encyclopedia offers *dry* articles.
For me, Wikipedia UNIQUELY offers *passionate* discussion/talk pages.
>> Earlier: "...Good reading at:
>> http://www.answers.com/boredom
>> (1,553 words from Wikipedia included!)..."
> Response: "...Did you bother to
> read your reference ...hard to reconcile
> with your belief [the word "boredom"
> first entered our vocabulary in the
> mid 1800s]..."It became the ailment
> of the era during the Romantic period
> ...1848..."...However...I am bored with
> this thread..."
Woke you up, did we? ;-)
"Boredom" is a description of a person's choice, not a description of
what they are reacting to. You've got it accurately: *you* are "bored".
I choose not to be.
And that, I think, is the whole point of Wikipedia: come one, come all,
everyone find their niche, dig in, edit every page - it's a wiki, after
all, everyone just get along, and stay out of each other's way if you
can't coordinate - there's loads of work to be done for everyone,
somewhere at Wikipedia, without wasting time clashing, or deleting
anything (that's non-spam, non-vandalism, not off-topic, especially at
the support lists like this one).
Feeling bored? Move *yourself* to another niche, on or off Wikipedia.
I hope to encourage people to take responsibility for their own boredom
instead of blaming it on whatever it is they are reacting to. Sadly, I
have found that admin/sysops all too often do blame their boredom on
someone else. Then, in an effort to overcome their own boredom, they
tend to delete and ban others, rather than move themselves on to new
horizons. Or, getting out altogether and letting someone else, someone
with more energy, positive energy, deal with things.
Admin/sysop is a SERVICE SUPPORT job, and can be exhausting. How do we
move people on from it when they are worn out, without hurting their
(dear dear) feelings? How do we encourage burnt out admin/sysops to go
do something else, something creative on their own, at some point,
instead of letting them quash other's creativity when they get bored?
I suggest removing the delete/ban tool from an individual's powers, and
also limiting it short term durations, and on article pages only. There
has to be a way for us to deal with counterproductive, anti social
behavior - on the part of admin/sysops! There has to be a way to
encourage a balance of powers, rights, and freedoms on Wikipedia, such
that anyone who wants to pitch in is welcome, and not treated as fodder,
expendable.