[Wikipedia-l] Role of a sysop: (was: Wikipedia and anti-Semitism)

[Poor, Edmund W]

> > * A sysop should only use his administrative privileges as a "time
> > out" to direct discussions in case of conflicts to the talk page,
> > but he should not do that if he states a position in the
> > matter. Otherwise he is no longer a sysop or a moderator but an
> > editor, which is not the function assigned to him.
> 
> I'm not even really comfortable with that, unless things have gotten
> way out of hand or something.  Most importantly, we should ALL exert
> social pressure for co-operation rather than Usenet-style argument.  It's
> hard, but it has worked wonders for us so far.

For an example of "exerting social pressure for co-operation", 
see [[Talk:Book_of_Mormon]]. In apparent response to a comment 
I made, parties to a dispute began editing their previous 
comments <<patting self on back>>. You'll have to dig through 
the "older versions" now, to find any of the mean-spirited 
comments I was objecting to.

Uncle Ed