[WikiEN-l] Userboxes: A rational proposal

[Guy Chapman]

On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 07:27:49 -0800, you wrote:

>I think to a degree Wikipedia has reached that stage Usenet did, where
>suddenly the influx of new people is beyond the rate at which they
>tend to acclimate to the older culture.  There are so many newbies
>that a newbie-culture can develop without having to join the existing
>one.

<AOL />

Oh, wait, this is a mailing list, not Usenet, isn't it? ;-)

>My thoughts: move all userboxes to user: space, so that they are
>obviously not official and not part of the encyclopedia project
>proper.  Then ignore them except for awful examples.

But make sure the welcoming committee gently inform people that Trolls
Are Evil.  

And I really really don't think that the perennial argument between
left and right in American politics (which of course is right and far
right for the rest of us...) helps build an encyclopaedia, any more
than proclaiming yourself a paedophile does.  For a while I've been
using a flag in my wikisig, this debate has persuaded me to stop. It's
also led me to think hard about the real wiki culture, and amending my
ways to fit in with it (which can't be bad).  But maybe the boxen are
good, in that they warn us to look out for bias from that editor. 

Anyway, what is needed, I think, is an "official" statement that the
war is over, and it's time to move on.  People I admire and respect
have done things which I think they should not have done, and that has
in some cases got them into trouble.  These are not evil people, they
are just folks like us with strong opinions.  I want to get back to
normal, whatever normal is.

Guy
-- 
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"To every complex problem there is a solution which is
simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken