Gregory Maxwell wrote:
On 12/18/06, Kat Walsh mindspillage@gmail.com wrote:
It was called a guideline for a year before someone called it policy a few months ago. I haven't seen much difference in its treatment.
I would be more concerned if I thought it made any practical difference what sort of template got stuck on top of it; it's not as though it were an easily enforceable bright-line rule to begin with. It is simply necessary to avoid killing each other, sometimes, and so people tend to regard it as a Good Idea and try to hold others to it no matter what designation gets slapped atop it. (As a side note, there is discussion about its status on the talk page.)
I think we should totally do away with the Guideline/Policy/Essay notices.. Instead we should put a signature space below... so users can see all the people who support the page.
The idea is that the only policy which really matters on a day to day basis is the ephemeral policy which is implemented by each and every one of us through our actions and decisions.
So the list below a such a page becomes a list of the people whom you can expect to get on your case if you ignore the page.. and people whom it might be useful to consult if you're thinking about doing something which might be borderline.
This would avoid all the energy thats wasted on such discussions and provide a more honest outlook on the complicated system which underlies the operation of our project.
I would support that as a policy.