[WikiEN-l] Things that bother me

[Jimmy Wales]

Well, I don't think we'll make changes anytime soon.

Benevolent dictatorship has worked well so far because people mostly
like me and trust me, or at least my wikipedia persona ;-).  I'm kind
and I listen and I try to make lots of people happy.

But that's a pretty vague foundation to project into the future.

1.  What if I do something really obnoxious?  Not good.

2.  What about controversies in languages that I don't understand?
It's hard for me to figure it all out.

3.  With a relatively small group, figuring out consensus policies and
recognizing that my actions do, in fact, reflect consensus, is not
especially problematic.  But as we grow, situations will likely arise
where it's more difficult to say that.

4.  And finally, there is a class of decisions that weighs heavily on
me, namely decisions about banning.  My pleasant demeanor may not
reveal how much I agonize over these, in *both* directions.  Some
mornings I wake up in a mood to ban everyone.  Other mornings I wake
up in a mood that says that everyone can be saved.  So I have to think
and worry a lot about these.  Despite the difficulty, though, I like
doing it well enough for now.  But someday I might be exhausted by it,
and might prefer a more broad-based procedure.

--Jimbo