RE: [Wikipedia-l] Role of a sysop: (was: Wikipedia and anti-Semitism) - Wikipedia-l

11 Dec 2002

...
   * A sysop
should only use his administrative privileges as a "time
 out" to direct discussions in case of conflicts to the talk page,
 but he should not do that if he states a position in the
 matter. Otherwise he is no longer a sysop or a moderator but an
 editor, which is not the function assigned to him.  
 I'm not even really comfortable with that, unless things have gotten
 way out of hand or something.  Most importantly, we should ALL exert
 social pressure for co-operation rather than Usenet-style argument.  It's
 hard, but it has worked wonders for us so far. 
For an example of "exerting social pressure for co-operation", 
see [[Talk:Book_of_Mormon]]. In apparent response to a comment 
I made, parties to a dispute began editing their previous 
comments <<patting self on back>>. You'll have to dig through 
the "older versions" now, to find any of the mean-spirited 
comments I was objecting to.

Uncle Ed