On Fri, Apr 30, 2010 at 1:38 PM, Charles Matthews <[email protected]> wrote: > Marc Riddell wrote: > >> I still do >> not understand fully much of the decision-making process that goes into >> matters such as deciding on a specific format policy. But what I do see >> throughout the encyclopedia is an arbitrariness in form and structure that >> greatly detracts from the professionalism of the Project. A reader is coming >> to the encyclopedia looking for information on a particular subject. That >> information should be presented in a consistent, reliable, familiar form. >> This form becomes the "signature" of the encyclopedia. As the Wikipedia >> Project matures, it is important that the decision-making processes >> regarding such basic issues as its very form and structure mature as well. >> >> > So you need to be talking to someone like [[User:Tony1]], an advocate of > said type of "professionalism". But of course there is more to be said > here. > > Naturally since most editors are "amateurs", in all the senses (unpaid, > doing it for the love of it, and people with an appreciation of the > site), anything that happens to the Manual of Style ought to be > compatible with retaining such amateurism (in a good sense). Note that > very complex sets of rules for formatting do add a barrier to entry; as > your example shows, it may not be so easy to appreciate the current > state of the MoS as compatible with "you may edit right now". > > In other words, and this has played out on the site, it is not true that > the advocates of a "professional approach" have all the answers. It is > rather easier to effect changes to the Manual, than to ensure that the > consensus about what a Manual page should contain translates into a > shared understanding across the whole community. In fact the assumption > that it does would rest on either of two assumptions: people are paid > and so have a direct stake in following an imposed "house style", or the > community is small enough so that everyone can track the debates that > will affect them.
Is this an old thread or a new one that I missed? I'd like to read the rest of the thread if it is still available. Carcharoth _______________________________________________ WikiEN-l mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
