On 2/3/06, The Cunctator <cunctator(a)gmail.com> wrote:
What most of the people on this thread fail to
recognize is that
creating anti-vandalism paramilitaries *encourages* vandalism.
They are no more paramilitaries than any other editor
Calling any less-than productive edit
"vandalism" by definition
encourages vandalism.
I assume CVU uses our standard difintion of vandalism. I assume you
have read the page.
On one end of the spectrum is the concept that any "non-authorized"
edit is vandalism--that seems absurd for Wikipedia, but it's the
standard at, say, Encyclopedia Britannica or a newspaper, the Nupedia
project, etc.
At the other end of the spectrum is that there is no such thing as
vandalism, just edits that are less helpful than others.
We should try to function as close to the latter end as possible.
So? CVU don't set the rules.
The very word "vandalism" I think is a
somewhat false analogy, since
there's no permanent damage in Wikipedia. It's just as easy, easier in
fact, to remove unwanted edits than to add them. It's the exact
reverse of, say, spraypainting a wall or scratching your name in a
subway car window -- much easier to add than to remove.
However not not everyone does removal. Thus those who do want to find
the problems and remove them with the minnium of effort.
By creating the crime of vandalism we make people into
criminals.
Umm no. I'm pretty sure that vandaliseing wikipedia is not a criminal
offence. Even in the COURT OF TRENTON NEW JERSY
By creating categories of good users we create
categories of bad users.
Umm yes and?
By creating restrictions, rules, trials we create
mechanisms for conflict.
People don't need mechanisms for content. Trust me on this.
I'm not saying that there should be no mechanisms
for continuing to
improve the quality of Wikipedia -- but that we are going down the
wrong road now.
There's always been a steady amount of less-than helpful edits. But
calling them all vandalism, doing things like "sprotecting" pages,
creating militias, only abets the problem.
We don't call all less-than helpful edits vandalism.
--
geni