on 6/1/07 8:08 PM, Matt R at wrote:
Sure, the aim is to write an encyclopedia, and BJAODN perhaps wasn't the funniest thing in the universe ever, but I think the project is becoming increasingly humourless and bizarre these days.
Marc Riddell wrote:
You are absolutely right, Matt. You're talking about the Culture of WP; that issue that most everyone who participates in this List seems to want to avoid dealing with. Hours and hours of talk about 'spoilers', and 'badsites' and 'passwords', and 'copyrights', and (pick one); but anytime a post comes along mentioning the very culture we're trying to function in - it is met with silence. I wonder why?
on 6/2/07 3:04 AM, Ray Saintonge at saintonge@telus.net wrote:
I'm afraid that if it weren't for people dwelling emotionally on these picayune topics, people in your profession would be in serious competition with the legendary Maytag Repairman.
Ray, there are days when I long for some idleness; at least for those moments I would be spared the constant noise of the spin-cycles ;-). Seriously, it is like listening to a family constantly rehashing the problems they are having, but not wanting to discuss why they are having them.
When we comment about the culture we live in we need to do so with a great deal of introspection, and introspection puts into question the assumptions upon which we build the certainty that underlays our other views. Nobody wants to confront his inner Sisyphus.
Surely you do not mean ignoring the problems altogether. That's like ignoring the formation of a tropical storm; because to anticipate a hurricane would force us to put aside those everyday, safer things we'd rather talk about, and consider why we are not already prepared. I'm not talking about group therapy here; but an honest, open discussion of the present state of the WP Culture. To date, trying to discuss this issue on this List has been like trying to discuss global warming in a culture dominated by oil companies and auto manufacturers. A leaderless society will go in the direction of its most dominant voices. And, as the society goes, so goes its culture.
I am a part of this Project. I want it to not only survive but to thrive.
I'll see your Sisyphus, and raise you one Cassandra :-).
Marc Riddell