From: "Poor, Edmund W" Edmund.W.Poor@abc.com Reply-To: English Wikipedia wikien-l@Wikipedia.org Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 09:50:27 -0500 To: "English Wikipedia" wikien-l@Wikipedia.org Subject: [WikiEN-l] Proposal for Harmony (was: Policy on Reversions?)
Erik made an eloquent and keen observation:
:-) Until there is a firm policy that is strictly enforced (e.g. :-) you can revert only once, if that doesn't work, you will have :-) to take it to the talk page), edit wars will be a reality on :-) Wikipedia, and the side that is willing to invest the most :-) time in their "POV" will get it through by sheer force.
This is precisely the problem which vexes me. This is what makes me want to leave Wikipedia permanently, as I have been 'threatening' to do all this week. This is what has driven away countless superb contributors. Some have complained about this problem loudly and repeatedly before making a public departure, but many have just quietly vanished like Lewis Carroll's snark.
Thus I would like to propose the formation of a sort of club or SIG within Wikipedia - sort of on the lines of the old semi- humorous Wikipedia 'militia' - a group of contributors who will join to intervene in edit wars and work together to create a stable and neutral article, one which all parties to the edit war would agree is correct and good and satisfying.
How would club members find out about edit wars? (Actually there might be a software solution for this question). How would the club decide which "wars" to intervene in? How would the club communicate with one another?
These club members would show by example how to contribute in a harmonious, useful fashion. These members would bind THEMSELVES to the rule of "you can only revert once". They would propose options on the talk page BEFORE making edits to the article. They might even wait an hour or a day for assent from others before making a change.
These club members would politely remind others not to make abusive remarks on talk pages. They would refactor talk when it got too long or tangled.
I don't have to be the club president, we might not even need a president or a formal roster.
What does everyone think about this plan?
Ed Poor
Sounds like a spiderweb, well designed for catching flies (folks who with a little nudging come around), but ineffective on hawks (folks who are here to advance a POV). It also sounds very elitist and time-consuming. I'm still interested in how to catch hawks.
Fred