On 10/22/2015 7:36 PM, Risker wrote:
Carol, I think you're missing something important here. Aside from the fact that this would cost about $2 million a year, the structure you are proposing would only be providing support for English Wikipedia.
First, even as a radical decentralist friendly to all sorts of governmental anarchism, I'm not into the kind of oppressive chaos that the current Wikipedia structure encourages... See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tyranny_of_Structurelessness
But let's say at most 30 mediators or arbitrators are hired just for English Wikipedia (what percentage of all articles/edits on all the wikipedias is that, by the way? 10% 30%? 80%?)
30 x $50,000 (salary and admin) = $1,500,000. Add a few more hirees and or admin. expenses and perhaps higher salaries (though dozens of level headed experienced editors would be delighted to make that much doing what they lover). You might reach $2 million a year.
And the Wikimedia Foundation's budget is $50 million a year? If WMF's flagship enterprise English WIKIPEDIA keeps getting these horrible mainstream media reviews, it's going to keep going down hill and soon enough those millions will dry up.
WMF should do this now before it's too late and too many editors are too discouraged by how out-dated and/or crappy so many articles have become they won't be interested in re-upping any more even if such changes are belatedly made.
OR a better alternative MIGHT come along. It doesn't take that many millions for some saavy entrepreneurs to copy the software and whole database of articles, throw on the required licenses, add just enough unobtrusive and/or entertaining tech advertisements to pay the bills, and recruit a bunch of editors because of their ability to swiftly deal with trolls/sockpuppets/undeclared paid editors/extreme partisans and to provide good mediators for honestly disagreeing editors. They might even offer small financial incentives and the potential to graduate to a part- for full-time employment as admin/mediator/arbitrator.
I know of some billionaires fed up with certain vicious POV pushing on Wikipedia who might be talked into it by the right entrepreneurs. Too bad I clam up when rich people are in the vicinity... Must overcome that hangup!! ;-)
CM
On 22 October 2015 at 19:08, Carol Moore dc <carolmooredc@verizon.net mailto:carolmooredc@verizon.net> wrote:
b) Change structure so 10-20 (as needed) mediators are hired and trained to be professional. They'll also be given admin powers and will take on harder cases volunteer admins and other dispute resolution processes can't handle. (Structured processes for dealing with alleged abuses will be implemented.) The Foundation will set a firm goal of at least 50% women hirees. c) Change structure so 4-6 arbitrators are hired but only used for most intractable or original issues. (Structured processes for dealing with alleged abuses will be implemented.) The Foundation will set a firm goal of at least 50% women hirees.