On 3/13/07, Simetrical <Simetrical+wikilist(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Jimbo's role is ambiguous, but it seems pretty
clear that for
day-to-day purposes, he can ignore consensus-gathering, which no one
else on the project can do
"Day-to-day" seems like an exaggeration. Jimmy steps into disputes
relatively rarely, and they are not usually what I would call serious
long term issues (with all due respect to friends of Mr. Peppers or
owners of shiny userboxes). Ideally, I see Jimmy's role as that of the
respected founder who heals divisions in the community by cautiously
proposing compromises in difficult, heated situations. I think it's
also fine for him to focus the attention of the community on an
important issue for the purpose of brainstorming and consensus
finding.
His role, if you want to give it a name, is that of a representative
"head of state" for the English Wikipedia, but without any legal
basis. There are controls in place above & below him, and he has acted
with remarkable restraint even before this was the case. Of course I
don't agree with everything Jimmy says or does, but I don't think it's
reasonable to characterize him a "dictator" of anything, certainly not
now that his legal status is equal to mine, Kat's or Oscar's.
--
Peace & Love,
Erik
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