on 6/12/07 8:56 AM, Mark Gallagher at m.g.gallagher(a)student.canberra.edu.au
wrote:
G'day Marc,
(Go on, snip the bit I liked. No, no, I don't mind. If anyone wants
me, I'll be alone in the corner, crying ...)
on 6/11/07 1:06 PM, Mark Gallagher at
m.g.gallagher(a)student.canberra.edu.au
wrote:
And I do agree with you about the Tyranny of
Structurelessness; all it
means is that the powers-that-be are hidden from view, unknown, perhaps
even to themselves. And nobody is accountable. This is a constant risk
on Wikipedia, and there are parts of the project that have already
succumbed.
OK, folks, how many references to ³structurelessness², and the effect it is
having on this Project, is it going to take, before this Community wakes up
and sees it for the truly serious problem that it is?
When will this Community realize that these ³powers-that-be² members with
the loudest, most persistent, seemingly ³authoritative², and seemingly most
convincing voices, will take negative advantage of that structureless vacuum
and steer it in the direction they want it to go? And that, right now, they
like it just the way it is!
I'm not convinced that the Man Behind the Curtain is entirely conscious
of his power. Certainly I've had a lot of arguments with authoritative
admins who aren't aware of how much power they wield, and how much
potential for damage they possess.
<snip/>
Sorry about the snip, Mark, I was focusing on the part of your post that
fired me up the most: Organizational structure, or, really, the lack of it,
in WP.
The bottom line is, a project (or community) of 10 cannot be managed in the
same way that a project of 100 is, much less a thousand, much less one
hundred thousand, much less
A formal day-to-day organizational structure must be created within WP if it
is to survive. Right now it is being held together by paper clips and
bailing wire.
Right now, the idea of such a formal structure, with specific persons
guiding the Project, may produce anxiety in some of the Members - but this
needn't be. Wikipedia is a unique work; its organizational structure can be
just as unique.
I don't have an answer. I am simply trying to gather enough persons who
recognize and care about this to put their creative heads together to find
such an answer.
Marc
--
If you're restricted to what is - you are cut off from - - what could be.