[WikiEN-l] Arbitration Commitee Seeking Comment

[Geoff Burling]

On Tue, 7 Jun 2005, Erik Moeller wrote:

> As I've often stated, if you absolutely rule out voting as a last
> resort, you end up with clubs and cabals which make decisions instead.
> This is exactly what a content committee would eventually become. Don't
> destroy the village in order to save it.
>
Voting only works if the losing side accepts the result & concedes
defeat. Politians who win elections are wise to keep that in mind, &
should always make an effort to at least refrain from antagonizing
the losing side any further.

Voting on Wikipedia to settle issues won't work because the opposing
sides are usually so certain that their opinion is the right one,
that they will not accept an adverse result from a vote. That any
vote on Wikipedia has settled a conflict is a miracle, & proof that
the people involved acted in good faith & with a lot of WikiLove.

Geoff