On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 16:52:15 -0400, you wrote:
WP:OFFICE should be done publicly. I am certain that at least old time Wikipedians would have enough of a clue to not act like jerks if we can't explain right away what is going on.
I think this is a valid point. Many of us new boys see WP in a fundamentally different way from how the old-timers see it. There are two ways this can go: the newbies come to realise that they are not in a free-speech free-for-all, or the policies change. I hope the former prevails. I have learned much from watching old-time Wikipedians at work; if we lose sight of the fact that Wikipedia is supposed to be an encyclopaedia, it will become - well, something less.
I was a researcher on H2G2 for a long time. I became frustrated with the bureaucratic process of publishing and peer review - but actually it was quite good at preventing crap form being published in the edited Guide. It was just frustratingly slow to get updates recognised. WP is much better in that respect, but it's also a lot easier for POV pushers and obsessives like YTMNDers to hijack articles. I wish I had an answer. Guy (JzG)