[WikiEN-l] Rules, expertise, and encyclopedic standards

Tue Mar 8 21:49:24 UTC 2005

Daniel Mayer wrote:
>Violation of our content guidelines and policies are also behavioral issues
>concerning users. That is the type of thing that the ArbCom can and *is*
>already taking care of.

If you say so.  Just to be clear -- the reason I made this distinction is 
first, because our catalogue of policies makes this distinction:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Policies_and_guidelines
and second, because I see a qualitative difference in the nature of the 
violations: violation of behavioral guidelines is about the interactions 
between one editor and another.  Violations of content guidelines is about 
the relationship between one editor and an article.

There has been some pretty vigorous debate concerning the way the ArbCom 
investigates the behavior of the complainant and the "defendant" in ways 
that often efface the distinction between the two.  Although a number of 
people object to this, I do understand why this is so -- the ArbCom by 
definition is arbitrating a conflict between two people.

Violations of content guidelines, however, are not by definition, and need 
not involve, conflicts between two users.  What is at issue is not how one 
person treats another, but the appropriateness of the changes an editor is 
making to an article.  These are cases where the committee would 
investigate only one person.

I understand Mav's reasons for wanting to keep it one committee.  I do 
think these are valid considerations, though,

Steve

Steven L. Rubenstein
Associate Professor
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Bentley Annex
Ohio University
Athens, Ohio 45701