I respect the sentiment, but I don't think Wikipedia needs to get into the habit of providing emotional support systematically to editors. There are a lot of people out there with a lot of problems. Folks need to take responsibility for their own wellbeing and their own actions. Flameouts are a fact of life and always have been - not just on the Internets, either. I think the last thing we need is a coordinated Wikiproject to provide emotional support to troubled editors, or a set of templates like "You seem stressed out, do you need a temporary Wikibreak?" that are nicely designed and completely standardized and impersonal.
On Dec 20, 2007 6:34 PM, Marc Riddell michaeldavid86@comcast.net wrote:
on 12/19/07 11:06 PM, Todd Allen at toddmallen@gmail.com wrote:
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.
Todd,
To me "civility" in a community of persons includes resources being available for the individual to reach out to for assistance when they need it. Within WP we have a lot of technical resources, with experts available, when a Community Member needs this kind of help (and, believe me, I've been one of them many times :-). But are there any resources available to someone who is needing some emotional support?
Many, many persons bring many, many pieces of emotional baggage to the Project. And we certainly can't do anything about that. But, when the emotional dilemma a person finds themselves in is a direct result of some activity in the Project, could we not provide some first step with an ear where the advice might, in fact, come down to the person needing a break? This could be something as simple as a list of persons who are willing to make themselves available to listen and offer some input. I find this process a lot more civil than just letting the person flame out on their own.
Marc Riddell
-- Be direct - be fair - be assertive - but, above all, be civil.
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