[WikiEN-l] Can we ban 172 now? And VV too! (in response to Fred Bauder)

Wed Jun 2 16:51:56 UTC 2004

Abe Sokolov wrote:

> Over the past 18 months that I've been contributing to Wikipedia, I've 
> been asking Fred over and over again to stop charging that I am a 
> Stalinist, a Communist, or a Soviet supporter. These are outright 
> lies. **I am not a Stalinist or a Communist.**
>
> However, I do not ask that readers of the mailing list believe take my 
> word for it, but rather judge me by the work I've contributed to WP, 
> as opposed to the second-hand lies and distortions on the mailing 
> list. Enclosed in this e-mail below is an example of some of my work, 
> which should put these stale lies and slandars to rest once and for all.

( very, very long-winded snip)

I was sorely tempted to respond to VV's posting with the single word, 
"Bullshit!" but I managed to dig down and find a hidden source of 
restraint. 

Fred is a known quantity when it comes to left/right issues.  - He has a 
tendency to paint every left-leaning philosophy Red with the blood of 
the left's own extremists, but tends to be one of the more constructive 
persons when he is away from those crusades.

Given that, I considered his response to the VV posting to be high 
praise of your approach to Pinochet.  It is a small blessing that he 
will not give you very often.

I am fully aware that your battle with VV goes well beyond the Pinochet 
article, but the painful solution to these conflicts will need to happen 
one article at a time.  A solution to this problem will not 
automatically imply a solution to the edit wars over Stalinist era 
history or the My-Lai massacre.

I am no fan of the 3-revert rule or quickpolls.  These two attempts at 
solution may marginalize the most vocal warriors, but they do absolutely 
nothing for the article being disputed.  The Wikipedia ultimately is 
about its articles and not about those who write those articles.

Historiographical standards are difficult for many people to understand, 
tainted as they are by one's association with a particular view and 
vested interests in a conflict.  People are too easily influenced by the 
propaganda that was required to insure patriotism.  The history of these 
political conflicts is usually created by the victors who apply a 
post-bellum extension of the might-is-right doctrine.  In the middle 
ages it may have been appropriate to have your truth established by your 
knight champion, but objectively that is very poor historiography.

Ec