[Foundation-l] Consensus [was: Top 10 Wikipedias]

[Thomas Dalton]

2008/7/9 Andre Engels <andreengels at gmail.com>:
> On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 12:06 AM, Thomas Dalton <thomas.dalton at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I haven't been able to figure out whether or not any of them have
>>> managed to define that concept in a reasonable manner, though.
>>
>> Consensus doesn't need defining. Consensus decision making isn't
>> something you actively do, it's what happens automatically when you
>> don't impose any other form of decision making and everyone has the
>> power to undo any change.
>
> Which implies that Wikipedia consensus is actually the power of the
> person with the longest breath...

Don't underestimate the power of peer pressure - most people will give
in if everyone else disagrees with them. Also, most people are
concerned more with the bigger picture of making an encyclopaedia
rather than with the exact wording of one particular sentence in one
particular article, so will willingly concede in the interests of the
project because they recognise that people's time could be better
spent. When they won't, consensus has failed and some other method of
making a decision is required (eg. blocking the edit warrior and doing
what everyone else wants).