[WikiEN-l] off-wiki attitude (was Re: BLP, and admin role in overriding community review)

[Mark Gallagher]

G'day Ray,

> David Mestel wrote:
> 
>>>Wikis in general, including MediaWiki in particular, are very poor for
>>conducting discussions
>>
>>The thing I find is that on-wiki, anything you say which you later think
>>better of stays around to haunt you forever.  Obviously, however, openness
>>is also a Good Thing, so I think that the bottom line is that IRC is a place
>>for informal opinion-gathering, not for actual decision-making.
> 
> OK, but you still need to make the arguments in a public place, where 
> after discussion on IRC some of the more stupid elements can be 
> eliminated.  Agreement on IRC is not on-wiki agreement.  The new people 
> that become involved may have very different ideas.

That's exactly right.  There's nothing wrong with going to IRC and 
saying, "Here's my idea.  Can anyone get rid of the Suck before I 
propose it on-wiki?"

I've done this several times, and benefited enormously.  I also think I 
  have been of benefit to others when they seek to discuss something 
informally and --- gasp! --- PRIVATELY before potentially making fools 
of themselves on-wiki.

Refusing to adequately explain an admin action (or, indeed, any 
challenge action) is a Bad Thing, but it's a Bad Thing whether the 
spectre of IRC is raised or not.  Those who fear IRC need to press home 
the whole "explain it on-wiki" thing, rather than spend sleepless nights 
wondering if the married couple Admin A and B said something private at 
the kitchen table last night.


-- 
Mark Gallagher
"'Yes, sir,' said Jeeves in a low, cold voice, as if he had been bitten 
in the leg by a personal friend."
- P G Wodehouse, /Carry On, Jeeves/