[WikiEN-l] Brandt unblocked by Jimbo - community support?

[Jimmy Wales]

Guy Chapman aka JzG wrote:
> On Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:05:56 +0200, Jimmy Wales <jwales at wikia.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> The question of whether a particular good faith gesture in an effort to 
>> create an atmosphere of good will which may lead to a more favorable 
>> outcome for both sides will actually WORK or not is a valid question, of 
>> course.
> 
> There is also the issue of whether, in reaching out to Brandt, you
> will simultaneously issue a gut-wrenching blow to people who have been
> savagely attacked, often for no real reason.  And I don't think that's
> overdramatising the issue.

Well, I hope not.  I suspect that most of the people involved will 
understand that a good faith negotiation to try to get certain behaviors 
stopped is worthwhile.

> I may have been overly superficial
> in this review, but I didn't see much evidence that he is actually
> here to improve the encyclopaedia.  What is his goal, actually?  To
> continue the long-lost argument over his article?  Or to actually, you
> know, add good information to the encyclopaedia?  

He asked me to unblock him for the specific reason that he would like to 
have the opportunity to post on the talk page of the article about him. 
  I think that he is being honest about that, and that this is all he 
really wants to do.

> Or: Why on earth would we do this?  What's in it for us, as a project?
> I guess that's the bottom line, and I'm still not seeing a positive in
> the cost-benefit balance.

Imagine if we can come to some measure of peace with Brandt, so that he 
stops doing things that (quite rightly) irritate the community.  Imagine 
if we end up with a short and properly NPOV article about him, and he is 
satisfied with it (though still perhaps wishing we would delete the 
whole thing, of course).  Suppose the worst of the off-wiki behaviors 
stop, and suppose he just comes to post comments and complaints whenever 
the article about him appears biased.

Then I think we can all stop worrying about it.

Is that a possible outcome here?  I think so.  If it doesn't work, it 
doesn't work.  I tried.

--Jimbo