<html><head><title>Re: [Gendergap] A forum in the village pump</title>
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<span style=" font-family:'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt;">I mean something like a link in the left column of the main page,<br>
or even a link in the thread boxes (Liquid Threats) themselves.<br>
How many people are usually connected to the IRC channel and<br>
how many are usually reading Wikipedia? I don't know the ratio,<br>
but it must be overwhelming.I am editing Wikipedia since years<br>
ago, and I connected to the IRC channel maybe three, four times<br>
in all that time, not more. I imagine that newbies do it even less<br>
than me. And it would be great for a first contact with Wikipedia<br>
editors, much better than a cold template.<br>
<br>
Miguel Ángel<br>
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<td width=1332><span style=" font-family:'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 12pt;">We have many accessible IRC channels, including those dedicated to helping newbies. I don't know if media-wiki has an inbuilt ability to access IRC through it (or one welded onto the side) but that might be something to consider if not. <br>
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On Sun, Feb 13, 2011 at 4:04 PM, Miguelinito <<a href="mailto:miguelinito@gmail.com">miguelinito@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
One of the most recurrent warnings in Wikipedia is<br>
"this is not a forum". Wouldn't it be good to have a forum<br>
in the village pump? Or even an own irc channel easily<br>
accesible?<br>
<br>
In Spain we have a refrain: "Hablando se entiende la gente"<br>
(talking is the way to work things out). In the village pump,<br>
we can interchange information, but not emotion at all.<br>
We can't freely express ourselves and we all feel as if we<br>
were in a school exam instead of feeling comfortable as<br>
with a group of friends. We have to weigh words carefully<br>
and we are punished if we don't. That may be good for<br>
people who are used to it, but not for everybody, certainly.<br>
<br>
Sometimes we know somebody professionally (in this case,<br>
as a Wikipedia editor) but we know nothing about that<br>
someone personally, and, when we really know that person,<br>
we notice that we can start talking with no prejudices,<br>
and that we even need less words to express ourselves.<br>
I think that's one of the reasons why women like social<br>
networks so much. They can *feel* people, not just reading<br>
their arguments. Of course, I don't mean to give personal data,<br>
like real name, profession, etc., but just to talk in another<br>
level, more personal. Ask any professional and they'll tell<br>
you that emotions are a very important part of<br>
communication at a personal level. It would be an effective<br>
way to improve self-esteem in people with a high ego,<br>
it would reduce prejudice among users, and it's one of the<br>
things that women demand from TV.<br>
<br>
Maybe that could be a good idea.<br>
<br>
Miguel Ángel<br>
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<span style=" font-family:'arial'; color: #c0c0c0;"><i>-- <br>
Saludos,<br>
Miguelinito <a style=" font-style: normal;" href="mailto:miguelinito@gmail.com">mailto:miguelinito@gmail.com</a></body>