[WikiEN-l] Civility poll results

[Andrew Gray]

2009/8/11 Marc Riddell <michaeldavid86 at comcast.net>:

> Is anyone really surprised at this? On this very List people are constantly
> bragging about how wonderful Wikipedia is; focusing exclusively on how big
> it is. Yet completely ignoring how screwed up the culture is. It's like a

I'm really not seeing the same level of unalloyed positivity you are.

Speaking for myself, I've said on several occasions over the past two
or three years, both here and elsewhere, that our culture has
significant systemic problems. When discussing this, I never felt I
was alone in this opinion; it's widely held amongst a sizeable
fraction of my "contemporaries", people who've been involved for a few
years and had the opportunity to see the cultural shifts.

This cultural dysfunctionality is a real problem; it has been a real
problem as long as I can remember; and it's getting worse.

As you say, the people who deny it exists aren't helping anyone deal
with it. But, conversely, assuming that no-one beyond a few lone
voices know or care about it doesn't help us deal with it either.

-- 
- Andrew Gray
  andrew.gray at dunelm.org.uk