[WikiEN-l] Another admin burnout

[Marc Riddell]

on 12/19/07 11:34 PM, Steve Bennett at stevagewp at gmail.com wrote:

> On 12/20/07, Todd Allen <toddmallen at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I have tried to look back through some of the previous implosions,
>> though. I find that one extremely common thread is that the person tends
>> to become progressively more brusque, hostile, and nonresponsive, and
>> tends to respond to questions or criticism either by ignoring it or by
>> attacking the questioner.
> 
> This sounds like a standard response to a person becoming stressed due
> to more and more demands being placed on them and less margin for
> error. People get terse and aggressive when they feel that they have a
> big workload and no one to share it with. In the case of our admins,
> there are so many pressures now: problems to solve, but also a lot of
> "don't do this, don't do that". Attempting to navigate all these
> pitfalls while watching out for trolls is likely to do anyone's head
> in.
> 
>> For most admins, though, a marked change in the way they react to people
>> (especially toward the negative) should be a good reason for someone to
>> gently suggest they take a voluntary and temporary break from the tools
>> before they're given an involuntary and permanent one. Ideally, this
>> would be someone the person knows and trusts, and that the person being
>> given the advice would be hesitant to simply brush off as a troll or a
>> fool. As to those trusted people, the best thing you can do for those
>> you trust and care for is to be honest with them, even when that honesty
>> might sting a little.
> 
> I don't know that a temporary break solves much in these situations,
> if the underlying causes haven't changed.
> 
> Steve
> 
I agree, Steve. But exploring the "underlying causes" would require taking a
long, critical look at some aspects of the Wikipedia process. This would
involve taking a critical look at the Wikipedia culture. And, since the
Wikipedia culture is us, it would mean taking a critical look at ourselves.
We have, historically, been very resistant to doing that.

Marc Riddell