[WikiEN-l] Review

[Phil Sandifer]

On Mar 7, 2007, at 7:32 PM, stvrtg wrote:

> The question that Im left with is the matter of process: Why was  
> Essjay
> forced to resign when he didn't even get a proper in-process review  
> from the
> Arbcom? That of course is why the Arbcom exists, to sort of try to
> investigate a case and see if things actually violated the rules.
>
Because sometimes Jimbo acts without the arbcom.

> In which there would have to be an answer for the charge that  
> Essjay used
> his pseudonym credentials to "strongarm" others in the context of  
> debates.
> The exerpts Ive seen do not show that, rather they show that Essjay  
> stepped
> in to offer some clarification and explanation on particular points  
> - not
> that he "strongarmed" people with his opinions.
> I think that characterization is flatly out of... character.
>
Indeed - we should note that Essjay's on-Wikipedia use of his  
credentials was wholly unproblematic, at least in terms of effects.  
This is something we should think hard about in terms of our anti- 
expertise bias - the worst case scenario turned out not to be  
meaningfully destructive to the encyclopedia.

-Phil