by Anonymous Coward writes:
on Monday July 12, 2004 @01:57PM (#9676876)
Posting anonymously, well, for obvious reasons.
Currently, the direction and "policies" of wikipedia are set by a very small, very active, and very vocal cabal. This group of users rejects any change to the fundamental power structure of wikipedia unless it suits their needs, and detracts from the project either by driving away users who disagree with the power structure, or outright banning of those users.
There seems to be no effective way to get the cabal members under control, and looking at the history of wikipedia over the past two years shows that this group has steadily grown in influence, control, and outright power through their monopolization of VfD (to squelch dissent) and the Sysop-creation process (to insure only like-minded users are granted any privilege). Additionally, every new ability granted to Sysops, despite being wrapped with "rules" and "policies", has found itself wide-open to abuse with no effective punishment being directed at the abusers.
Jimbo, what can be done to re-level the playing field and rein in the cabal?
Hello, and welcome Wiki-trolls. We're glad to have you with us. Is this 142.*.*.* speaking? Perhaps you can tell us which you are, so that we can post the detailed explanation of why you are banned? We'll be open if you are.
For those not in the know, and are interested enough to type shortcuts of the form http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/shortcutgoeshere- WP:VFD is Votes for Deletion, where pages are sent to be voted on for deletion, WP:RFA is Requests for Adminship (now featuring at least one completely ludicous candidate), and you can look up the WP:RULES which this user finds so oppressive.
This is nonsense. I joined only a few weeks ago and made a few votes on VfD, and no "cabal" prevented me from doing so. Anyone can participate on Wikipedia as much as you have time to.
I get the impression that more or less the only people who are unhappy with the current system are POV-pushing cranks like holocaust deniers who feel consipired against by the rest of wikipedia because their nonsense changes keep getting reverted.
In a nutshell, what you're saying boils down to the following:
The people who run the place are reasonably competent, reasonably honest, and treat the contributors with reasonable justice and consideration (if all those weren't true, the quality wouldn't be so damn high).
The people who run the place tend to sidline the paranoid dingbats (like you) who'd rather engage in endless intramural power struggles than do real work.
That's a pretty good thumbnail sketch of a competent project management team.
S
Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level.
-- Quentin Crisp
How to stop the Cabal (Score:2, Interesting)
Currently, the direction and "policies" of wikipedia are set by a very small, very active, and very vocal cabal. This group of users rejects any change to the fundamental power structure of wikipedia unless it suits their needs, and detracts from the project either by driving away users who disagree with the power structure, or outright banning of those users.
There seems to be no effective way to get the cabal members under control, and looking at the history of wikipedia over the past two years shows that this group has steadily grown in influence, control, and outright power through their monopolization of VfD (to squelch dissent) and the Sysop-creation process (to insure only like-minded users are granted any privilege). Additionally, every new ability granted to Sysops, despite being wrapped with "rules" and "policies", has found itself wide-open to abuse with no effective punishment being directed at the abusers.
Jimbo, what can be done to re-level the playing field and rein in the cabal?
Re:How to stop the Cabal (Score:2, Informative)
Wikipedia:What is a troll [wikipedia.org]
Lady Lysine Ikinsile/WhyWikipediaWorksNot [wikipedia.org]
Wikipedia:List of banned users [wikipedia.org]
Wikipedia:Banning policy [wikipedia.org]
Re:How to stop the Cabal (Score:4, Informative)
Besides, everyone knows that there is no Cabal [wikipedia.org].
For those not in the know, and are interested enough to type shortcuts of the form http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/shortcutgoeshere- WP:VFD is Votes for Deletion, where pages are sent to be voted on for deletion, WP:RFA is Requests for Adminship (now featuring at least one completely ludicous candidate), and you can look up the WP:RULES which this user finds so oppressive.
Re:How to stop the Cabal (Score:2, Interesting)
I get the impression that more or less the only people who are unhappy with the current system are POV-pushing cranks like holocaust deniers who feel consipired against by the rest of wikipedia because their nonsense changes keep getting reverted.
Sounds familiar. (Score:1)
In a nutshell, what you're saying boils down to the following:
The people who run the place are reasonably competent, reasonably honest, and treat the contributors with reasonable justice and consideration (if all those weren't true, the quality wouldn't be so damn high).
The people who run the place tend to sidline the paranoid dingbats (like you) who'd rather engage in endless intramural power struggles than do real work.
That's a pretty good thumbnail sketch of a competent project management team.
S