Yes, the existing BLP policy page is the result of many compromises, where various more extreme proposals were reduced to something which does, after all, have the general consent of the community. (Not that I like all of it, perhaps nobody does, but it's been relatively stable recently and seems to be something that we can live with.)
The proper way to change the policy there is not to try to subvert it by persuading arb com to overturn the policy by their autonomous action,, but discuss it widely and get actual consensus.
This should be resisted as we would resist any other attempt by a cabal to take over Wikipedia. (I don't of course mean by defiance. Perhaps at least the 1/3 change will be enough to affect the usually fragile majorities there, though I hope it will not be necessary to wait until December. One strong person can make a difference on ArbCom. I doubt this would have happened if NYBrad had not been forced to resign. The only serious question I have is whether we should concentrate on this, on the sourcing adjuration board, or make it a matter of general policy that their scope extends only to individuals and procedure.)
On 6/19/08, Charles Matthews charles.r.matthews@ntlworld.com wrote:
Mike R wrote:
On Wed, Jun 18, 2008 at 1:53 PM, Charles Matthews charles.r.matthews@ntlworld.com wrote:
If what the ArbCom says is fundamentally at odds with the policy the community wants, the ArbCom surely has to give way.
That's one opinion. Another opinion is that "ArbCom rulings do in fact hold greater authority than that of mobs, democratic or otherwise." [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales&diff=213...
"Mob" is of course a pejorative, as are "pile-on" and other such terms. The difference can be seen in the discussion structure. Threaded discussions can be particularly poor at clarifying matters. Arbitration cases are generally better at clarification than other options, short of wiki editing done by a skilful bunch of people. Which is why policy pages that have been worked over have the standing they do, and it's not just a question of how many people have actually edited them.
Charles
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