On 12/20/07, Todd Allen <toddmallen(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
I have tried to look back through some of the
previous implosions,
though. I find that one extremely common thread is that the person tends
to become progressively more brusque, hostile, and nonresponsive, and
tends to respond to questions or criticism either by ignoring it or by
attacking the questioner.
This sounds like a standard response to a person becoming stressed due
to more and more demands being placed on them and less margin for
error. People get terse and aggressive when they feel that they have a
big workload and no one to share it with. In the case of our admins,
there are so many pressures now: problems to solve, but also a lot of
"don't do this, don't do that". Attempting to navigate all these
pitfalls while watching out for trolls is likely to do anyone's head
in.
For most admins, though, a marked change in the
way they react to people
(especially toward the negative) should be a good reason for someone to
gently suggest they take a voluntary and temporary break from the tools
before they're given an involuntary and permanent one. Ideally, this
would be someone the person knows and trusts, and that the person being
given the advice would be hesitant to simply brush off as a troll or a
fool. As to those trusted people, the best thing you can do for those
you trust and care for is to be honest with them, even when that honesty
might sting a little.
I don't know that a temporary break solves much in these situations,
if the underlying causes haven't changed.
Steve
I agree, Steve. But exploring the "underlying causes" would require
taking a
long, critical look at some aspects of the Wikipedia process. This would
involve taking a critical look at the Wikipedia culture. And, since the
Wikipedia culture is us, it would mean taking a critical look at ourselves.
We have, historically, been very resistant to doing that.
Marc Riddell