I have unblocked Blair P. Houghton. Re: [WikiEN-l] Unreasonableblock of user

Wed Mar 16 17:14:26 UTC 2005

>From: "Blair P. Houghton" <blair at houghton.net>
>
>Consensus isn't something you obtain, demand, husband, or cite.  It's 
>something that happens.

More typically, it is something you build based on discussion or debate.  
Talk: pages are a great place for that.

>Consensus follows action.  To believe otherwise is to obviate the prime 
>directive of Wikipedia, which is to '''be bold'''.

I hadn't heard "Be bold" referred to as Wikipedia's "prime directive" 
before; I'm not sure everyone here would agree.  In any event, while I don't 
know the details of this particular case, it amazes me how often people 
attempting to make major, usually contentious, and often highly POV 
re-writes to articles cite "Be bold", yet fail to note that the majority of 
that policy is devoted to when you *should not* "Be bold".  In particular, 
much of the policy clearly points out that on disputed issues and 
controversial subjects one should, instead, get consensus on Talk: pages 
first.

>The cooperative counterparts in a community of bold people are those who 
>accept the boldness of those who are right, regardless of the prior 
>consensus.

I believe we are straying into "argument from silence" logical fallacy 
territory here.

>This concept of cooperation imbues every organization that relies on the 
>truth.

Cooperation is something that comes from both sides; it cannot be 
unilaterally imposed by "Bold" individuals.

Jay.