On 3/7/07, Sheldon Rampton sheldon@prwatch.org wrote:
On Mar 7, 2007, at 6:18 PM, wikien-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org wrote:
It is clear the WP culture needs work, care, and nurturing. But I still do not believe this can be accomplished by creating more RULES.
Are you kidding? The entire Wikipedia community only exists BECAUSE of rules. Some of them look like the 3 revert rule, and some of them look like this:
$wgAllowExternalImages = true;
Rules are how a community formalizes its understanding of how members should behave within it. It's a much better way of shaping a culture than arbitrary mob action or arbitrary, case-by-case orders from some dictator. What's your alternative?
As you indicate, there are different kinds of rules. Lessig has explicated a lot of the differences and how they affect communities differently. Sometimes computer code is best suited; sometimes explicit rules are best; sometimes cultural norms are best.