From: wikien-l-bounces@Wikipedia.org [mailto:wikien-l-bounces@Wikipedia.org] On Behalf Of Ray Saintonge
Peter Mackay wrote:
Having said that, one must also consider the question - what
is the highest
priority? Building an encyclopaedia or having a good working
community of
editors?
Of course, building an encyclopedia has first priority, but a good working community of editors is essential to accomplishing that goal.
I won't be popular for saying so, but I don't know that it is. My high school biology teacher used to delight in seating people together who hated each other. She reckoned you got more interesting and lively discussions that way and everyone benefited. My objective was to sit up the back somewhere and go to sleep, but that didn't happen in her class and I have fond memories of high school biol as being a great education experience.
Would we produce a great encyclopaedia if we all thought and worked the same way? I'm thinking that a certain degree of tension, conflict and competition helps us go beyond the banal. Some of the best features of Wikipedia are produced as a way of handling conflict. 3RR, for instance. It's silly, but it works.
And having ongoing experience with problem users - especially problem admins - makes us more able to handle future threats. Look at the way a solution emerged to the WoW thing. Of course it took a certain amount of screaming and kicking to get there, but it happened.
Peter (Skyring)