On 8/1/07, Andrew Gray shimgray@gmail.com wrote:
On 01/08/07, Steve Summit scs@eskimo.com wrote:
Though one or two of the questions were snide, I have to assume that at least a few of them were in good faith: editors unaware of Slim's storied history, who came across the Slashdot thread and thought she might like to know about it.
Okay, cards on the table, time for a slightly embarrassing admission. *I* don't know SlimVirgin's storied history. Or, oh, whoever else it is we seem to discuss regularly; all the participants in that attack-sites debacle seem to have backstories I don't understand. I basically don't remember much our internal politics before a few months back; it all seemed to drift past me and/or I didn't care. Do I have to lose my cabal license?
There are a large number of people - long-experienced editors, with good standing in the community and clearly not crazy - who basically have no idea what the *fuck* all this is about, and are not happy about it all. Oh, we recognise the names as "harbingers of trouble", since wherever they're mentioned a lot of smoke and mirrors and violent disagreement about internal meta-stuff follows, but we have no idea of the context or the history behind it all. It doesn't mean anything to us; it's just... noise.
But it's noise that's swallowing our project and wasting our time. We have a community on enwiki of, what, ten thousand active editors? How come obscure political bickering centering around half a dozen of them seems to take up so much time?
When people try - honestly and in good faith - to find out what on earth is going on, they get rebuffed, yelled at, discouraged. We grow up an elaborate culture of secrecy - this sort of thing must be Very Significant, all the noise made about it, but yet it isn't ever discussed freely or explained; confusing things like oversight are thrown around to further confuse matters. I can see why people would end up reading Wikipedia Review to try and understand what's going on.
All this is a net detriment to the project. It's internal navel-gazing; most of us are oblivious to it or actively discouraged from discussing it. It serves to reinforce the non-existent impression of a central cabal, it wastes the time of productive editors, and it provides an easy angle for trolls to disrupt and smear our work. And, of course, the "attacks" perpetuate it all.
Wikipedia has never been bylined. We have a culture that discourages the individual ego; we are a collaborative work. This stupid situation around a tiny handful of editors is consuming the project's resources, burning up our goodwill and credibility both among the outside world and among our own community. It's time to put a stop to it.
Please leave. All of you. The project is more important than your pride, and you are dragging it down; this situation is never going to improve unless someone walks away.
Tidy up the loose ends, sign out of your account, and walk away. Take a break. It's August, the sun's shining, it's the perfect season to go for a walk in the hills and reflect. Then come back under another name, if you want to continue working here - I would be sorry to see hard-working editors leave. Right now, you are *net detriments* to the project, no matter how many thousands of edits you rack up; I'm sorry to say it, and I feel a heel for doing it, but it's true.
This is not an attack. This request has been a long time in the making, and it is perfectly serious. Please treat it as such.
I would like to second all of what Andrew has said above.
This incessant cacophony of personal drama is drowning out useful conversations actually relevant to the building of the project. It is causing stress and emotional pain for many of us. It's completely unnecessary, and is within your power to stop. Hand in your bits, and step away from the project for three months. Get some fresh air. Say hi to your friends and family. And don't worry about what's happening here, because others will be rising to take your place in sharing the workload; that's how we work. Go. We can afford to spare you, for as long as you need. We'll see you again, because those who care about this project can never stay away permanently. But staying in the heart of the fire out of pride, or ego, or vanity, is folly, and can only lead to madness.