That "arcane lore" has resulted in the largest educational work ever produced by humanity, and free for everyone both as in speech and as in beer.
So I think we need to consider carefully before radically changing it. It has worked, and worked unimaginably well, for most of two decades. That's not to say it can't still be improved, but the proof is in the results. If the English Wikipedia were badly broken, it wouldn't be a fixture of modern life. Todd On Thu, Jul 4, 2019, 11:54 PM Gerard Meijssen <gerard.meijs...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hoi, > Sorry but there is no reflection and all I read is an apologist telling us > that English Wikipedia is the best there is. It is not, not by far. What is > thought of as the English Wikipedia community are the old hands steeped in > the arcane lore that are the policies that defend the status quo and keep > others out. Just consider, I read a thread where it was put that a Jess > Wade would not make administrator because (all kinds of repressive > arguments that make my skin crawl). Just consider, I have formulated as a > problem that 6% of list items in English Wikipedia refer to false friends > and or do not link to the right article. I have formulated a solution that > involves Wikidata and find that it is not even considered. Just consider, > in an arbcom case where I have a beef I included my point of view. It was > not accepted because it did not comply with a set format and was threatened > that I could be banned because (I did not get the legalese). > > English Wikipedia is toxic and we can lose a substantial number of people > when the result is that we open up and allow for new, other arguments. It > is toxic because it considers itself complete as it is and consequently > does a substandard job in "sharing the sum of all knowledge". > > Keeping things as they were is not an option. > Thanks, > GerardM > > On Fri, 5 Jul 2019 at 01:27, Nathan <nawr...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > Also, I believe that the > > > near-miracle of English Wikipedia should be tended with great care, and > > > that the scars from this incident will be with us for a long time. > > > > > > Pine > > > ( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine ) > > > <https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l> > > > > > > > > I think there's a kernel here of something really important. An argument > > can be made (and has been, I'm sure) that the English Wikipedia is a > modern > > Wonder of the World. It's a towering achievement of technology and > > humanity. It's humanity means that, like all of our towering > achievements, > > it can't escape our flaws. The world is full of toxic people. Released > from > > the risk of being iced out of society or punched in the face, they let > that > > toxicity reign on the Internet and all of its spaces - including > Wikipedia. > > The idea that the WMF or the Wikipedia community is going to solve this > > problem is earnest and well-meaning but foolish. > > > > Yet Wikipedia was brought into being despite the toxicity, and has > survived > > and thrived all this time alongside the struggles of human interaction. > So > > maybe what we really need is for the WMF to be hands off and let the > forces > > that created this "miracle" keep doing their work, and for the community > of > > the English Wikipedia to keep struggling but with the practical > realization > > that success means just keeping temps below a rolling boil. > > _______________________________________________ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
