[WikiEN-l] Arbitration Committee elections, 2005

Wed Oct 26 15:05:05 UTC 2005

Kelly Martin wrote:

>Anyone who doesn't realize that there are influence structures in
>Wikipedia isn't paying attention.  If you want to move up in
>influence, it helps to be known, and known well, to those who already
>have it.  This is true whether people with influence are selected by
>appointment or by election.

And those who think this is a bad thing, an avoidable thing or
something we should pretend doesn't happen are blinding themselves and
heading for trouble. A hierarchy will happen whether you like it or
not, because humans are involved; politics starts with two or more
people in a room, anywhere. Pretending it's not there makes it
poisonous, not nonexistent.

This article, 'The Tyranny Of Structurelessness'  talks about the myth
of no hierarchy in the 1970s feminist movement and the demons it
raises, and reading it I find it vastly applicable in genera to ad-hoc
and activist movementsl:

  http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/hist_texts/structurelessness.html

If you don't have a structure then one will form out of your sight and
bite you in the arse. "If the movement is to move beyond these
elementary stages of development, it will have to disabuse itself of
some of its prejudices about organisation and structure. There is
nothing inherently bad about either of these. They can be and often
are misused, but to reject them out of hand because they are misused
is to deny ourselves the necessary tools to further development. We
need to understand why 'structurelessness' does not work."

If you don't want cabals, you don't achieve that by acting as though
any three editors talking to each other are OMG WTF BBQ CABAL!1!!!

- d.