[WikiEN-l] How to bring back people who don't want to bother?

[charles matthews]

"Guy Chapman aka JzG" wrote

> The fundamental problem in my view is that some people think their
> right to free speech somehow trumps policy, and that policy should not
> in any case be interpreted to include how users interact with each
> other.

I've not actually read a fundamental analysis that I have found convincing; 
and some of the things being written here strike me as back to front.

Can one actually draw a line betweeen bumper-sticker-sans-vehicle loudmouth 
talk (e.g. annoying userbox I saw about intolerance of Commonwealth 
English), and identity politics, which at worst is highly divisive and at 
best puts partisan editing further up the agenda than it needs to be?  It's 
tricky to do so.. And yet there is an inverse proportion going on, where it 
is arguable (in the real world) that it is more important to have the right 
of self-declaration and mutual recognition.

The fundamental problem we know about is that there is a real world, 
off-wiki, and it keeps on intruding.  Because WP is now media as well as 
'pedia, its content affects the real world, implying a responsibility.  It 
is a bit odd that the 'defining issue', since the January elections, is not 
to do with article content.  I suppose if it were, we'd be worse off, since 
no one wants to see central control of article content.

Charles