[Wikipedia-l] Re: Ratings and decisions (was: Article validation: allow IP ratings for the raw data phase)

[Erik Moeller]

Gregory Maxwell:

> We can always collect anon votes but then exclude them from any
> decision making process.

As far as I'm concerned, the ratings should not be tied to *any* 
decision making process, anonymous or not. They are purely data 
collection. Whether a version is stable, whether it is neutral, whether 
it should go into the print edition, and so forth, these decisions 
should be made in consensus if at all possible. (This can be a speedy 
"If there are no objections, this article will be .." type process as 
long as all decisions are reversible.)

A peer review process, in my opinion, must be tied to *discussion* first 
of all, and not to voting. Voting is a valid last resort, but not a 
generally good way to review an encyclopedia. It would be very bitter if 
a simple software feature could be used to overthrow years of 
consensus-building culture on Wikipedia.

I am somewhat concerned that the fact that these ratings will be public 
will be used to influence discussion. I hope when this feature goes into 
beta, we will have a clear and public policy that these ratings have no 
relevance whatsoever to ongoing discussions and decision making 
processes. Otherwise I strongly oppose this feature being taken live in 
the first place. I have no objection to people using the ratings to 
build a list of pages to work on, as long as the question whether the 
pages do, in fact, need work remains a community decision.

Erik