[WikiEN-l] Office actions

[Delirium]

Jimmy Wales wrote:

>Alphax (Wikipedia email) wrote:
>  
>
>>Given the number of people who don't understand or don't care that what
>>happens on Wikipedia can have real-world implications, a suitable degree
>>of "HERE BE DRAGONS" /is/ needed.
>>    
>>
>
>So I agree with you about that... to a degree.
>
>The problem is that far too often, when something is tagged WP:OFFICE it 
>just sits there, for months, with everyone scared to do anything.  This 
>is the opposite of what is intended.
>  
>
That's what I am unclear on (and I imagine some others are too).  My 
original understanding of WP:OFFICE was that it was a quick-fix 
lockdown: while the Foundation is trying to sort out an imminent 
problem, the page gets stubbed or blanked and has a WP:OFFICE banner on 
it, giving the Foundation a bit of temporary breathing room to do the 
sorting out.

But it seems that's not what it's *actually* being used for, since the 
banner sometimes stays for months and there doesn't seem to be any of 
that "sorting out" activity going on in the meantime.  So what is 
actually intended?  That the article be rewritten cautiously from 
scratch?  How long does the WP:OFFICE banner (and protection) stay on in 
that case?  Basically I'm unsure what, as a normal editor, I should do 
with regards to such pages.  My original understanding was that I should 
just leave the page alone for a few days, pending someone figuring out 
the situation and re-opening editing from a new starting point.  But 
maybe that's not the process?

-Mark