On 4/23/07, Marc Riddell michaeldavid86@comcast.net wrote:
on 4/23/07 2:09 PM, Ray Saintonge at saintonge@telus.net wrote:
Getting together on a personal level can be reinvigorating. Going to meetups and sharing views does a lot for building respect. It can be easier to find a common understanding when the only thing standing between you is a couple of beers on the table.
I've personally found benefit to attending Wikimania, and during the time that I was there I didn't make a single entry to the database.
Ray,
I took a look at Esperanza's Main Page, and its MfD discussion. I didn't have to read either one very far to understand why the project failed. It had set itself up as a separate Community from the Main WP one. That may not have been its intention, but that is how it came across to many - and to me.
This is nowhere near what I am thinking about. What I see would be a Mailing List set up exactly like the WikiEN-l one we now participate in; the only difference would be in the subject matter discussed.
I would love to go to a Wikimania event, but time and scheduling make that impossible for me. I would, therefore, love to see a Wikimania-type List where the same type of environment and communication could take place for anyone and everyone who cares to participate.
This is what I'm getting at.
Marc
-- If you're restricted to what is - you are cut off from - - what could be.
Oh, I see, in cyber space. All I could think initially was, OMG, where the hell would I find the time? I play on the web to get away from people, and then there are all the suggestions like sitting around and chatting over a few beers--many of the editors I work with are well under 18, and/or fundamentalist muslims. Certainly the geologists could be counted upon to take up their share of the beers, though.
I liked these comments by another poster (sorry it's hard for me to keep stuff straight):
The nicest and most respectful people in the project tend to be those who avoid the polemical areas of WP. Trouble is, if nobody mans the polemical areas, who will?
I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you can respect your fellow editors
on
a professional basis, it's redundant to get to know them on a personal level, although that would be nice.
I do get curious about people, but usually find out they are well-outside of my socializing comfort zone (which has little room for expansion as I have a huge family and am very active outside of family). Even on Wikipedia many of the editors I interact with are hugely involved in areas I never go near. But, yes, I do get curious.
KP