[Foundation-l] #wikipedia

Wed Jun 20 08:01:53 UTC 2007

Dejan Čabrilo wrote:
> The most problematic rule is the ban of off-topic talk in the channel.
Off-topic chat is not *banned,* but it is being coaxed into other 
channels where it is more appropriate. Consider visiting 
#wikipedia-social. This doesn't mean that tangents and banter are 
disallowed, but that completely off-topic discussion should be avoided 
to begin with.
> We think of off topic
> conversation as a good thing. There is nothing worse than getting into a
> silent channel, asking a question, and getting the answer half an hour
> later, when you lost all the interest
>   
Yes, getting no answer while US politics or furry fandom drown out the 
question is worse than that. I think your concern is exaggerated. Most 
channels do not have 250 regular users, and they do fine. I think 
#wiktionary is a good example of a channel that consistently has less 
than 30 occupants, and is always more active than #wikipedia-en with 
many more on-topic conversations, and tangents as well.
> 1) Were there any complaints that #wikipedia wasn't helpful to people
> with questions? 
Yes, very much so.

Dominic