--- David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
On 30/09/06, effe iets anders effeietsanders@gmail.com wrote:
Please... Why are we having these fights?
Because this is the sort of thing that can come from setting it up as a competitive process.
Taipei has been chosen now, and we can i think do two things: Accept that or
not. If we do the
second, we will be fighting over this for weeks,
months and maybe
longer.
I suspect at least some of those not chosen question the transparency of the selection criteria and process. Saying "stop talking about this" doesn't stop them thinking about it.
Please stop fighting over who copied something
from someone else. It
is NO use! In wiki it is *good* to copy the good
things right? As long
as it is the idea of improoving your bid, it is OK
imho. The bid it is
copied from won't be less good by that.
I do like the idea of the wiki process being applied to bids. It means at least some effort is preserved for use by others.
The idea is not to *win* with your bid,
If that is the case, it is at odds with the word "win" being used all the way through the process, and with it being a competitive process.
Please let's all hope it will be a great conference, and don't make
it harder for them
with all these fights.
The competitive process by definition has a winner and several losers. The losers will be upset if the selection process and criteria appear not to have been transparent. Telling people to stop talking about it won't stop them thinking about it, especially if they feel their concerns are being dismissed rather than addressed. (I have no idea if their concerns are valid, but they certainly think they are.) And volunteers who feel ill-treated leave the project, which is damage to the project caused by using a competitive process.
As I said, a competitive process will be inherently damaging. If there's really no other way than a competitive process, then fine, but don't be surprised when it has the side effects it's *obviously* going to have.
- d.
I intially disagreed with you, david, but now I am coming around to your way of thinking. Everyone is a volunteer doing there best in this. I do not doubt that this is true. But I am beginning to think a competitive process requires a higher level of professionalism than can be provided by volunteers doing their best.
Not that I think people should continue fighting over the Wikimania 2007 selection. But we should not stop talking about this process. We should start talking about how future Wikimania's should be selected. Perhaps the first task is to really define the relationship between Wikimania and Wikimedia. Is it dealt with through a commitee? Are there any Board Resolutions that pertain to Wikimania? What exactly is the connection?
Birgitte SB
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