[Wikimedia-l] Please, let's save the Wikipedia - from itself

[Fred Bauder]

> привет Ярослав,
>
> Yes, I am very serious. I was though only arguing about the members of
> this instance, be it an 'arbitration committe' or an ombudsman or
> whatever, with the duty to protect users from mobbing and abuses in the
> Wikis.
>
> We must though be aware that there are very different countries in the
> world. What is possible in one part of the world is not possible in
> another. I am aware of the present situation in Russia and pity the
> Russians. I think the Wikis should at least reflect the society they are
> working in, not be worse, and it could be difficult to be better (I am
> still just talking about stopping mobbing and abuses in the Wikis).
>
> I am certain that a committe could help against mobbing in Wikis even in
> Russia and in other countries with similar kind of problems. You could
> though perhaps, for reason that you express, not get any help from the
> outside society. If the members of such a committe would have any
> problems with the authorities or hooligans in such a country I don't
> know, but that could be an argument for placing it outside Russia (and
> other countries). Perhaps even just have one international instance.
>
> Let me tell you a little about my own experiences to explain what I
> wrote. In my country we have a lot of ombudsmen to protect citizens from
> child abuse, harassment of immigrants and a lot of other things. The
> persons working with these questions are very public, you can find their
> names, photos etc. on the web. I have had a lot of contacts with these
> people during the last year. I have never heard of one single instance
> when they have been attacked, harassed or anything else. That is quite
> natural, I think, they have the protection of the surrounding society. If
> someone harassed or abused them, he/she be sued or arrested.
>
> The situation is the same for people working against mobbing in schools
> and companies. They are of course also public persons. Still I have never
> heard of anyone being attacked. The reason is the same as above. If these
> persons were anonymous it would partly look very stupid and partly they
> could not do their job properly.
>
> I do not see any reason why the situation wouldn't be the same for such
> an instance in the Wikis. As I said above the persons must be
> professional and hired by the Wikis, to get the right authority and
> respect. Where they are placed physically is not so important since there
> role is only to act within the Wikis (not in the society), perhaps one
> shouldn't choose Russia though.
>
> I really think that it also has a psychological role not to be anonymous.
> The method of mobbers and extreme political movements is to dehumanize
> it's opponents. They put a label on their enemies to make them not human.
> I think being anonymous works in the same direction. It deprives you of
> your identity and thus makes you easier to attack.
>
> Regards,
> Lars Gardenius

Indeed; however, a number of other strategies are also used to dominate.

Fred