On 9/13/07, WikipediaEditor Durin <wikidurin(a)gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/13/07, George Herbert
<george.herbert(a)gmail.com> wrote:
On 9/13/07, WikipediaEditor Durin <wikidurin(a)gmail.com> wrote:
I think you fail to understand that consensus can not override that
Wikipedia is not a fair use encyclopedia. It is a free content
encyclopedia. I'm sorry you do not seem to understand this.
...well, I'm extremely sorry you feel this inflexibly about it. This
issue seems to have been the last straw that drove you to separate
yourself from the project, and other than this particular issue, your
contributions are sorely missed.
And again you've mis-characterized my stance.
I believe I speak for the new consensus, though, and that it extends
up to at least informal agreement at all levels.
This has been rather
unfortunately divisive, but it is important.
And fundamentally wrong. The "new consensus" you speak of would
have Wikipedia not be a free content encyclopedia. If you don't want
a free content encyclopedia, you are invited to apply for a job at
Britannica. :)
That a consensus would agree that everyone should jump of a cliff
doesn't make that consensus right. There are fundamental issues
at stake here.
This was clearly enough of a hot-button for you that you decided to
largely leave over it.
Again, though, current consensus is that "the project" is not as
absolutist free content oriented as you want it to be.
I do not expect that this is a closed issue. But there is a current consensus.
The opinion "You all have hijacked our project!" is a bit odd... it's
almost completely against the idea of community values and
decisionmaking. If the Board, en.wp admin, and en.wp editor
communities communally agree that we're adopting one line rather than
another one in the greater grey area of free and redistributable
content, I don't see that as betraying a community core principle that
we're going to be a freely available encyclopedia. We clearly still
are, people clearly are still mirroring, and nobody has showed the
slightest interest in threatening us over fair image use, much less
suing.
It sounds like you should just fork Freedipeida off and be done with
it. Good luck on your decisionmaking as to what to do about text
quotes, if you do 8-)
Your communications before, during, and after your
departure match the
type and tenor of the burned-out-senior-admin
(which we have
unfortunately had enough to recognize well, by now).
Non-sequitur, since I've not been an admin for more than half a year.
Whether it matches or not is irrelevant.
You were a senior editor for longer than that. The admin bit is ...
well, not trivial, but less important of a transition than "really
active participation".
--
-george william herbert
george.herbert(a)gmail.com