[WikiEN-l] Wikipedia Shepherds

Fri Aug 8 23:01:13 UTC 2003

Daniel Mayer wrote:

>Toby Bartels wrote:

>>For those worried that "firefighter" tends to imply
>>that a wave of newbies is a problem (a raging fire),
>>just remember that it was originally the Wikipedia "militia".

>The fires created are not the newbies themselves, but the damage a small part
>of them do (either intentional or not).

So we don't think of them as fires but rather as potential arsonists?
I don't mean to say that the term /is/ inherently insulting,
but any term that suggests that newbies may cause trouble (and they may)
will be capable of being taken the wrong way.
(I personally find "firefighter" acceptable.)

>"Guide" is still too paternal for my
>taste. In my part of the world at least, firefighters play the role of
>general emergency personell (providing extraction and medical assistance at
>car crashes and such) and only on relatively rare occasions fight actual
>fires. IMO that makes them a very positive symbol.

"Wikipedia emergency personnel"! ^_^

-- Toby