[WikiEN-l] "How the Professor Who Fooled Wikipedia Got Caught by Reddit", _The Atlantic_

[David Levy]

Anthony wrote:

> So we need to weigh the harm vs. the benefits, right?

Right.

I don't know whether this experiment's benefits will outweigh its
harm.  I only know that the community had no opportunity to discuss
the matter (including possible improvements) and arrive at a
determination.

Presumably, we all agree that the harm caused by the temporary removal
of 100 external links is relatively minor.  But if the resultant data
collection lacks substantial value, this relatively minor harm is
unjustified.  And if other users engage in similar experimentation, it
will multiply.

> > > What's a "consensus-backed experiment"?

> > An experiment whose validity and appropriateness have been affirmed by
> > the community.

> I'm not letting you out that easy.  What does it mean to "have been
> affirmed by the community"?

I'm not trying to dodge your question.  I honestly don't understand
what's unclear.

I'm referring to a hypothetical scenario in which the Wikipedia
editing community has evaluated a proposed experiment's basic
parameters (with enough details withheld to prevent impacting the
results) and reached consensus
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Consensus] that the plan is
sensible and should be implemented (either with or without
modification).

David Levy