[Gendergap] Hello and a (small!) manifesto

[Daniel and Elizabeth Case]

>I am reminded of what Sydney said earlier, that behaviours that are normal
>in real life -- e.g. that you talk to friends when a situation has upset
>you -- are not normal in Wikipedia. The assumption in Wikipedia is that any
>such conversation would serve a nefarious Machiavellian purpose, rather 
>than
>the simple human need for emotional support.

Well, at least for some people. I have no problem when people approach me on 
my talk page, and I don't expect any when I reciprocate. Usually things work 
out just fine.

However, I don't deny that mentality exists. Some people, either with or 
without good reason, feel that any attempt to talk to them is just someone 
laying the groundwork for "tried to resolve it and failed" or some other 
such escalation into a formal dispute resolution.

I think some editors have been genuinely surprised when I addressed their 
concerns politely and actually compromised with them. And yes, I've 
encountered users who treated the incursion into their talk pages as if 
looking out through the crack between door and wall below a chain.

>You can't let your hair down in Wikipedia, because anything you say on
>a talk page can and will be taken down and used in evidence against you.

Transparency is a two-edged sword, isn't it? I do agree that not all new 
users are aware that almost *everything* is saved and *anyone*, not just 
registered users, can look at it. Can we do anything to better let new 
editors know you have no reasonable expectation of privacy over any edit you 
make?

Frankly, I think we're just where society as a whole is going to be in a few 
decades, where this level of transparency will be considered not only normal 
but desirable and cooperative. Orwell got the concept of Big Brother right, 
but he didn't anticipate that the only difference between communism and 
capitalism after the triumph of the latter would be that *everyone* could 
and would be keeping tabs on everyone else, not just the government. 
Foucault got it more right ... "Against the peer-group jury", David Riesman 
wrote in "The Lonely Crowd", "there is no privilege against 
self-incrimination."

Daniel Case