On 1/7/06, Sam Spade <samspade.thomasjefferson(a)googlemail.com> wrote:
While I like what Jimbo said, and what he agreed w
Tony Sidaway
regarding, I should hope he doesn't agree w tony on the following:
One pretty good way to find out would be to take away the user
categories and see how many people leave. If they mostly stay, we've
gotten rid of things that facilitate the abuse of Wikipedia. If they
mostly leave, we've unshipped people who were here for the wrong
reasons. Either way is a win.
This is not only completely illogical, it underscores how out of touch
admins can get. Intentionally taking away a source of joy from large
numbers of users in a bid to see if they'll leave, or if they'll just
accept your hegemony over them... thats pretty much the opposite of my
recipe for success in a volunteer setting.
Sam Spade
And in case it begs the question, my recipe for success in a volunteer
setting involves lots of affirmation, community building, and rewards
(however small). As a psychology student w who places a great deal of
emphasis on behaviour modification, I see a morbid unbalance of
rewards to punishments on this project. Too much ARBCOM, not enough
"editor of the week". In sum, DO NOT arbitrarily take away that which
makes people happy. Don't be reactionary, be adaptive. Less
complaints, blocks and deletions, more praise, mentorship and
barnstars.
Sam Spade