2009/10/30 WereSpielChequers werespielchequers@googlemail.com:
I'm hoping that we won't have too many "trick" articles in this process, or articles that should be deleted but not by CSD (the criteria are "write an article that doesn't meet the deletion criteria".
Yeah, any such article ahs to be done in good faith, not an attempt to catch people out. The test criterion is anonymity. Write as good an article as you would in your known identity.
I think we've tested the charge that a new article submitted to Wikipedia will be tagged for deletion in two minutes and is guaranteed not to last seven days. But it would be a Pyrrhic victory to respond to the press that It is still possible for a good article to be added to Wikipedia by a newbie, as we'd have to concede that enough get deleted by over-enthusiasm at CSD to constitute a problem - the press exaggerated the problem, but they didn't entirely invent it. We've also established that neither welcoming nor wikification are currently keeping up with the flow of newbies and their articles.
I do, however, strongly suggest a writeup for the Signpost.
I'd also suggest getting the functionaries - which is the group on Wikipedia of people who've had most editorial and administrative privileges for a substantial length of time - to contribute their experiments as well. Discussion on the funcs list indicates there's a real problem. That way, the admin population can't dismiss it as just you whining - but something the arbs are seeing as well, and consider below the ideal of admin behaviour. We're after a cultural change, after all.
[cc'ing to functionaries-en - funcs, you may wish to join the wikien-l thread or contact WereSpielChequers directly.]
- d.