[Wikipedia-l] Re: [Intlwiki-l] Arbitration/mediation on en

[Andre Engels]

On Fri, 5 Dec 2003, Jimmy Wales wrote:

> I would like to encourage a similar setup on the larger non-English
> wikipedias, perhaps customized to some extent to fit localized needs.
> But the overall concept is to have in place clear methods for group
> decision making that are respectful of our overall ideals.
>
> On the English wikipedia, this was not necessary until now, but on the
> other wikipedias I think that it is necessary sooner because there is
> no real way for me to be an effective benevolent dictator.
>
> So, let's discuss this.

As far as my experience from the Dutch Wikipedia is, I do not see any
need for this kind of institute yet. De facto the ruling is currently
done by a relatively large group, consisting basically of the regular
contributors (including but not restricted to the sysops). What
conflicts there are that do not get immediately and amicably resolved,
usually are between a single new user and several existing users. That
would hardly be helped by mediation or arbitration, as a new user
would see such as a clique protecting each other any way. Besides,
they usually tend to either change their ways into something more
fitting or leave Wikipedia well before that.

Andre Engels