[Foundation-l] Cleaning up Wikibooks (was Re: Incubator Wiki for New Wikimedia Projects)

[Jimmy Wales]

Robert Scott Horning wrote:
> Still, as a Wikibook admin I am scratching
> my head to understand the full impact of this official policy change. In
> particular, it means that non-textbooks like the Cookbook may have to
> go, at least if we have a consistant textbook-only policy.

In legitimate, accredited cooking schools, cookbooks are textbooks.  I
see no reason why a cookbook should not be considered a textbook in this
context.

> There is a general tolerance of new content that goes onto Wikibooks, in
> part because it is a smaller project and we are trying to attract and
> keep contributors even if they add content that perhaps should be there.

This is a mistake, actually.  The best way to attract and keep new
contributors is to have a clean and passionate mission which is kept as
simple as possible.  Seeing tolerance for a "white power" racist tract
(which went through a long vfd before finally being deleted after I saw
it and complained, rather than deleting on sight and banning the creator
as a racist vandal...) is a great way to drive away contributors -- the
same goes for other cruft like "How to get a girl".

> "I'm happy to give more time, but these books are already candidates for
> speedy deletion. The point is that, to give on example which was
> thankfully already deleted, a racist white-power book is not a textbook,
> never will be a textbook, and should have been deleted on site and the
> creator banned for vandalism on site. --Jimbo Wales
> <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/User:Jimbo_Wales> 21:03, 13 November 2005
> (UTC)"
> 
> The user that added this white power book has otherwise done Wikibooks
> quite a bit of good, and banning him would only make an enemy rather
> than a useful contributor.

I very strongly disagree.  Wikibooks does not need such books, and it
was an is an embarassment to see such a thing.

--Jimbo