Oskar Sigvardsson (oskarsigvardsson(a)gmail.com) [050704 20:44]: Hmm, that's a good point. I do see your point on this. It's why some people complain of an "IRC clique" - i.e., IRC habitues tend to know each other as reasonable folk to chat to, so form a picture of each other as humans rather than nametags on disagreements. In-person wikimeets do this too. Interesting. Do the various Collaboration Of The Week projects have any similar effect? What else does? - d.

On 7/4/05, Oskar Sigvardsson <oskarsigvardsson(a)gmail.com> wrote: I'm amused to see that for this topic GMail has given me a set of advertising links related to computer game geeks. I think you've hit the nail on the head, Oskar! My first encounters with a particular editor made me think I'd met a smart-arse teenager, and I was startled to see that he thought the same of me. We should have more opportunities for collaboration, and they should begin right from the start. If that takes the form of game-playing and we begin to see each other as real human beings rather than faceless edit opponents, then this is a good thing. Perhaps we should have a "buddy" system in place - a new member gets a designated buddy to guide them in their first steps in Wikipedia and stop them from making mistakes and enemies. As for the games, if they aren't consuming significant resources and they reduce stress, then keep them by all means. Just find some way to stop them clogging up RC. And make sure that people don't come here just to play games. There are a zillion game sites on the net - let's not make WP games TOO enthralling! -- Peter in Canberra

Oskar Sigvardsson wrote: It seems somewhat counterproductive in this regard as its very presence has led to considerable disputes. Perhaps there are less contentious ways of promoting unity?