It has been obvious to me for a long time that this sort of thing is quite prevalent. On the one hand it sort of makes a mockery of the open and free principles espoused by wikipedia. But then again, it seem an inevitable development, afterall, we all know it can't be an out and out free for all.
So I accept that there is a place for it, but occasionally I get the feeling there is a cosy little club operating, to which not even 20,000 edits will open a door. Furthermore, those born prior to 1976 need not apply - open and free indeed! pippu d'angelo
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I don't know about the 1976 part -- I think that while it is perhaps more difficult for people born before then to gain respect in the community for whatever reason, there are many examples of people who are well-respected and, if a cabal existed, would probably be members of it, including but not limited to Jimbo, Ant, Danny, etc. etc.
Mark
On 21/05/06, Giuseppe DAngelo pippudoz@yahoo.it wrote:
It has been obvious to me for a long time that this sort of thing is quite prevalent. On the one hand it sort of makes a mockery of the open and free principles espoused by wikipedia. But then again, it seem an inevitable development, afterall, we all know it can't be an out and out free for all.
So I accept that there is a place for it, but occasionally I get the feeling there is a cosy little club operating, to which not even 20,000 edits will open a door. Furthermore, those born prior to 1976 need not apply - open and free indeed! pippu d'angelo
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On May 21, 2006, at 5:37 AM, Giuseppe DAngelo wrote:
It has been obvious to me for a long time that this sort of thing is quite prevalent. On the one hand it sort of makes a mockery of the open and free principles espoused by wikipedia. But then again, it seem an inevitable development, afterall, we all know it can't be an out and out free for all. So I accept that there is a place for it, but occasionally I get the feeling there is a cosy little club operating, to which not even 20,000 edits will open a door. Furthermore, those born prior to 1976 need not apply - open and free indeed! pippu d'angelo
http://www.bartleby.com/73/1828.html :-)
Seriously though, 5,50, or even 500 people may create a publicly unknown mailing list, IRC channel, whatever, but in the end, they lack the ability to effectively have more "control" over wikipedia, as a group, than 5,50,or 500 independent people who have *no* participation in private mailing lists, or chats, or whatever. In order for a group to gain that level of control, they would have to have a consensus of the community, in which case, where they discuss things, and how they discuss things, is irrelevant.
-Bop -- 4245 NE Alberta Ct. Portland, OR 97218 503-282-1370
Ronald Chmara wrote:
Seriously though, 5,50, or even 500 people may create a publicly unknown mailing list, IRC channel, whatever, but in the end, they lack the ability to effectively have more "control" over wikipedia, as a group, than 5,50,or 500 independent people who have *no* participation in private mailing lists, or chats, or whatever. In order for a group to gain that level of control, they would have to have a consensus of the community, in which case, where they discuss things, and how they discuss things, is irrelevant.
Precisely. You cannot forbid people to form mailing lists and such. I think that it's necessary that there should sometimes exist some mailing lists that are private, because of the sensitive data that is being conveyed. At the Serbian Wikipedia, from time to time, we use e-mails with CCs to different people for some really private discussions and I think that's clever, because sometimes, public discussions are not welcome for some topics. Bottom line - no one can restrict it and god knows how many private mailing lists there are and we can't do anything about it. The consensus in the community will determine the outcome no matter how many people were subscribed to those lists. Filip
On 5/21/06, Giuseppe DAngelo pippudoz@yahoo.it wrote:
Furthermore, those born prior to 1976 need not apply - open and free indeed!
On the English wikipedia, at least, many influential users are over 30.
-Matt
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