[WikiEN-l] Process is evil

[David Gerard]

On 21/08/06, Steve Bennett <stevagewp at gmail.com> wrote:

> I would like to read this process. I think the basic issues are
> relatively complex, because it's not as if *all* process is bad. It
> often really does serve a purpose. Maybe people need to think about
> the ramifications of not following any given process. If the
> ramifications are not bad, then the process could be scrapped, or
> downgraded to "howto" or something.


Yeah. The problem comes when people write what should be editorial
guidelines as if they are didactic instruction. The only purpose this
serves is if you want to use it as a stick to beat people down
afterwards - it makes it completely useless as an actual editorial
guideline. There was a lot of this during the writing of WP:LIVING and
it keeps creeping back. Because it's easier to lecture people than
trust them, or something. The fallacy is the instruction creep
fallacy, that if you write something down people will do it.


- d.