[WikiEN-l] Corporate vanity policy enforcement

[Richard Holton]

On 10/4/06, Guy Chapman aka JzG <guy.chapman at spamcop.net> wrote:
>
> On Tue, 3 Oct 2006 18:13:04 -0500, "Richard Holton"
> <richholton at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >Process, like so many things, is not inherently bad. It's the abuse of
> >process that causes problems.
>
> Actually the real evil is slavish adherence to process in the absence
> of the ever-elusive Clue.  Wiki-process exists to guide and inform,
> not to instruct, and far too many people fail to understand this.


I agree with you, Guy. I wasn't very clear, but I was primarily thinking of
slavish adherence to process when I wrote "abuse of process". That and
attempting to dictate process when not absolutely necessary.

There are places where following a strict process is important. Think about
a paper-based filing system, with filing cabinets. A strict process for
filing is essential.

Since we're computer based, and computers are excellent at strictly
following processes, we automate most of those situations. But sometimes
that isn't practical, or just hasn't been accomplished yet.

One part of having a clue is being able to distinguish between situations
where process is absolutely necessary, versus situations where process is to
guide and inform. Most Wikipedia processes are of the latter type.

The controversies on Wikipedia seem to involve processes where judgment is
required, and you can't automate judgment.

-Rich

[[W:en:User:Rholton]]