[Gendergap] Content versus behaviour

[Fred Bauder]

> After editing many years at Wikipedia, I think the most problematic
> aspect of the system is that all user guidelines are on behavior. If you
> have a problem editor who stays within the rules, they can and will keep
> going and going on content issues till they win. And unless they break
> some behavior rule, this can go on forever, especially in controversial
> areas. What I want to say here is that man generally are far more likely
> to keep pushinga dn pushing till they have their way content wise.
>
> If we are serious about fixing this issue, the focus needs to shift from
> behavior to content. I am not going to hit the hottest button of all,
> but we need a way to reign in content warriors by providing a way to
> resolve content disputes without having to wait till one of the parties
> violates a behavioral policy. By the time they start violating those,
> most women have left already.
>
> Do others share this observation?
>
> Kim
>
>
> --
> http://www.kimvdlinde.com

Although all "successful" (nearly all are eventually banned) edit
warriors I have encountered on Wikipedia have apparently been male, I
don't believe there is empirical support for your hypothesis.
Observations in real life, such as observations of females engaged in
politics and law do not support it, at least as something that is
generally true and could be depended on.

With respect to the question of whether questions of content should be
subject to dispute resolution, while in my opinion not gender related, I
believe you are correct despite the great difficulties involved.

Fred