One of the most recurrent warnings in Wikipedia is
"this is not a forum". Wouldn't it be good to have a forum
in the village pump? Or even an own irc channel easily
accesible?
In Spain we have a refrain: "Hablando se entiende la gente"
(talking is the way to work things out). In the village pump,
we can interchange information, but not emotion at all.
We can't freely express ourselves and we all feel as if we
were in a school exam instead of feeling comfortable as
with a group of friends. We have to weigh words carefully
and we are punished if we don't. That may be good for
people who are used to it, but not for everybody, certainly.
Sometimes we know somebody professionally (in this case,
as a Wikipedia editor) but we know nothing about that
someone personally, and, when we really know that person,
we notice that we can start talking with no prejudices,
and that we even need less words to express ourselves.
I think that's one of the reasons why women like social
networks so much. They can *feel* people, not just reading
their arguments. Of course, I don't mean to give personal data,
like real name, profession, etc., but just to talk in another
level, more personal. Ask any professional and they'll tell
you that emotions are a very important part of
communication at a personal level. It would be an effective
way to improve self-esteem in people with a high ego,
it would reduce prejudice among users, and it's one of the
things that women demand from TV.
Maybe that could be a good idea.
Miguel Ángel