Anyone who has spent time on the projects knows that the tone is often awful. The disputes can be bitter, no matter the small stakes, and many people are remarkably quick to snap irritably or to offend indiscriminately. It's been observed that this can have a negative effect on the most regular recipients of wiki bile; some English Wikipedia administrators have had notoriously little patience with others, and the environment can be so famously toxic that a policy is necessary to remind us to assume good faith on the part of others. So Gayle's reaction to the conflicting needs, methods and attitudes of the "community" is understandable.
But a big part of the solution is as simple as the golden rule - do unto others as we would have them do unto you. If you are interacting with a staff member or a volunteer, or making a decision that might affect them, think about how they might react to you. Then imagine how you would want to be treated in their position, or if its easier imagine that the other person is in the office next to you and is someone you might see every day. It's hard to legislate by policy the types of behaviors that might make relations between the WMF and the "community" better, but surely this is one step that is simple if not easy. ~Nathan _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l
