I like the idea of more transparency, and I think that opening processes
can often help to reduce surprises and increase the quality of decisions.
I wonder whether a reason that people hide information, including drafts
and plans, is that they are afraid that if they share information then
someone will criticize them bluntly for perceived shortcomings.
I think that some courage is necessary to publish work while knowing that
the work may be criticized. Public speaking is a common fear, and I wonder
whether we should do more to encourage people and to train people how to
present in public even when there is a risk of criticism. I have drafted
some additional comments regarding this point that I may share later.
At the same time, I understand that the level of frustration in the
Wikiverse can be high, and it's easy to snap at someone else who may be
generally competent and have had good intentions when they share something,
make a comment, or ask a question. (My guess is that if I review my own
emails then I will find a few emails that I wish that I had worded
differently.)
I also wonder if, collectively, we should work on improving our listening
and one on one conversation skills. By listening I do not necessarily mean
"create a survey and obtain analytics", although surveys and analytics can
be useful tools. Listening includes hearing comments that are unpleasant,
and hearing criticism that may be delivered coldly. Listening may
difficult, but my guess is that improving our collective listening skills
would decrease the average level of stress and frustration in the
Wikiverse. People who feel heard and are given a chance to shape decisions,
in my experience, sometimes become more understanding and accepting, while
people who feel ignored may also feel frustrated and resentful.
Regarding WMF specifically, I think that some teams in WMF do a good job of
listening, while others seem to regard listening as something that is best
done exclusively through surveys and analytics. I think that surveys and
analytics can be good, but also that one on one conversations are often
necessary for enriching mutual understanding, for the greatest chance of
producing good outcomes, and for decreasing the average level of
frustration and stress in our shared environment.
Pine
(
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )