[WikiEN-l] Just what *is* Jimbo's role anyway?

[David Gerard]

On 21/03/07, Sam Blacketer <sam.blacketer at googlemail.com> wrote:

> Jimbo clearly has a prerogative of mercy, unblocking some community blocked
> users (such as Anittas) when they apologise and ask to be let back.


Yeah. This is a Jimbo power the AC has too - for people who have been
community banned (and remember, a community ban means you've been
*such* a dick that lots of people are pretty sure you'll *never* fit
into Wikipedia - it's IMO a much stronger ban than an AC ban) to
appeal to the AC and/or Jimbo if they feel they understand the problem
and are able to try again fruitfully. Even the worst troublemaker
should be able to come back if they can stop making trouble. (Wik came
back lots, and people were mostly happy to look the other way as long
as he wasn't being a dick about it. Unfortunately, he continued being
a dick about it.)


> Maybe my English way but I like the idea of keeping Jimbo's power
> unspecified. We can never know when there may be an intractable dispute over
> some arcane matter which needs someone to come down and decree a solution.
> Keeping it unspecified also amounts to a restriction to only important
> exceptions. A specified power is a restricted one but also turns into a duty
> to exercise it when the specifications are met.


Indeed. It's limited by the fact that the community has to be willing
to go along with the founder's statement. This is almost universal to
open-source and open-content projects.

Remember that this isn't the world. There's a whole world out there.


- d.