On Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:05:56 +0200, Jimmy Wales jwales@wikia.com wrote:
The question of whether a particular good faith gesture in an effort to create an atmosphere of good will which may lead to a more favorable outcome for both sides will actually WORK or not is a valid question, of course.
There is also the issue of whether, in reaching out to Brandt, you will simultaneously issue a gut-wrenching blow to people who have been savagely attacked, often for no real reason. And I don't think that's overdramatising the issue.
There is a big difference between, say, removing his user page and associated debates and coming to an agreement to leave each other alone, and letting him back in. Most of his edits leading up to the block appear in any case to be either promoting Wikipedia Review or editing information about himself. I may have been overly superficial in this review, but I didn't see much evidence that he is actually here to improve the encyclopaedia. What is his goal, actually? To continue the long-lost argument over his article? Or to actually, you know, add good information to the encyclopaedia?
Truthfully, if he never came to our attention ever again because he spent the rest of his days quietly Wikignoming away, the issue would eventually be forgotten. Do you see that happening? Or are we simply giving him more rope and standing ready to catch the chair when he kicks it away? Will he take some more of our known good editors with him? He's taken a few out already, as you know.
Or: Why on earth would we do this? What's in it for us, as a project? I guess that's the bottom line, and I'm still not seeing a positive in the cost-benefit balance.
Sorry to be negative, but I have to put myself firmly in the utterly bemused camp here.
Guy (JzG)