Nicholas Knight wrote:
ArbCom thinks it's toothless to deal rapidly with clear abuses.
If this is the case, I think *YOU* (Jimbo) can and should fix it by
making it clear to them they're not.
I think we're good at this point. The ArbCom is empowered to deal rapidly with clear abuses, and I think they know it.
- ArbCom is afraid of backlash for dealing rapidly with clear abuses.
I feel like this may be the most likely problem. I also think it could be worked through simply by biting the bullet and coming down hard and fast on a few exceptional problem cases, making Wikipedians get used to the fact that "due process" doesn't mean "any process that makes it harder to ban someone". (I think this is an artifact of a time when Wikipedia was much smaller you held sole power to ban and did everything you could to avoid it. A benevolent dictator presiding over a medium-sized project is markedly different from a pseudo-democratic body presiding over one of the largest "open source" projects in the world with one of the lowest barriers to entry. I don't think enough people have grasped that.)
I think this is basically accurate. I do recommend, though, that the "coming down hard and fast" be really limited to a few exceptional problem cases, as opposed to being random.
ArbCom is woefully understaffed.
I think staffing levels are a factor regardless of the truth of any of these other points. From the sound of things, the recent elections have
helped. Depending on how the next few weeks and months go, I think serious consideration should be given to expanding ArbCom further.
Yes. I think we should keep an eye on it and increase the size as needed.
I liked your idea of some form of temporary volunteer help for the ArbCom as well, although I hate to see more and more people bogged down with this stuff. Perhaps it is better to just streamline the process to a degree.
--Jimbo