[WikiEN-l] Viral swarming teenage vanity spam

[Redvers @ the Wikipedia]

From: "Sam Korn" <smoddy at gmail.com>

> This along with unreasoned "speedy" votes.  "Speedy"
> does not mean
> "because I really really think so".  There are
> circumstances where it
> is appropriate, but they are rigidly defined. 
> People with half a
> degree of sense should know not to vote like this.

Sam's right, but as Mark has pointed out, complaining
here is pointless.

The changes that can be produced by policing AfD
against this sort of thing are startling. I've found
that spending a few minutes a day on AfD saying "this
isn't a vote, please state a reason for your opinion"
and "this isn't a speedy criterion, please argue for a
slow keep or find a reason what fits the current
speedy criteria" and even "AfD isn't a vote. Your
"vote" will be discounted by the closing admin. Plase
give your opinion instead" causes a great change in
those who are contributing.

Well, at the very least it causes them to watch their
language and actually provide reasoning rather than
just votes.

Also, it causes those with a POV or an ulterior motive
to reveal themselves. Both kneejerk inclusionists and
kneejerk deletionists will invariably contact the AfD
patroller and reveal a specious reason why a vote was
appropriate in a particular case. And thus you know
for future reference that they can be discounted. Or
they will contact you and explain in tortured detail
how their vote without reasoning was something other
than a vote without reasoning... and you know to
discount them in future.

What we need is an "AfD Patrol" to join RC and CV.
Members can be deletionists or inclusionists (and will
be accused by both sides of being the other). Their
personal views are worthless, as their job will be to
simply patrol AfD and refute "voters" whenever they
appear. Given three months, these patrollers will have
restored AfD to a faulty-but-mostly-working status,
rather than the current
faulty-but-often-glaringly-broken status it now has.

There is nothing else available to replace AfD.
Therefore we must make AfD work.

Anyone want to be [[WP:BOLD]] and sent up
[[Wikipedia:AfD_Patrol]]? Or do we prefer to sit here
and bitch?

And I know that the ultimate result is
[[Wikipedia:RfA_Patrol]] but one disaster at a time,
hey?

-> REDVERS




		
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