[Foundation-l] Do we need a Code of Participation?

Tue Nov 6 15:44:29 UTC 2007

Have you ever read through the comments section of any relatively  
high-traffic website? Try the washington post, or digg, or youtube.
I can't spend 10 minutes reading those things without shaking my head  
in disgust. Libel, racism, sexism, hatred etc. All by supposedly  
moderated websites.  We absolutely do not want wikinews turning into  
that.

-Dan Rosenthal

On Nov 6, 2007, at 10:30 AM, Brian McNeil wrote:

> What is being missed here is *Wikinews' comment namespace is  
> outside NPOV*.
>
> We want opinions, we want people proposing half-assed solutions and  
> getting
> them shot down in flames. We want people to come back to Wikinews  
> to see
> what issues catch their attention and provoke them to  
> {{haveyoursay}}. I
> think that particular template goes on virtually every single new  
> article.
> It is positive feedback for our contributors because they get to  
> see people
> are reading their articles and are provoked to comment on them.
>
> For some the blunt, but succinct, "Don't be a jerk" is not the way  
> WM should
> do things, and I have sympathy for their point of view. If someone  
> can come
> up with something as pithy in about 10 words or less I'd be happy  
> to see it.
>
> On the other hand, I'd remind people who have a focus on other  
> projects that
> Wikinews is, well, a news site. Every article we keep makes its  
> appearance
> on the front page. What we have here is an online equivalent of  
> letters to
> the editor, but with retroactive moderation. There has been limited  
> use of
> profanity on these pages to date, but some have been very active  
> and are now
> longer than the articles they are attached to.
>
> My personal favourite... (from [[WN:BJAODN]])
>
> Article: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Nebraska_Senator_sues_God
> Comment: "In a stunning twist, God countersued the entire human  
> race for
> distruction of property and loitering. "I clearly said they could  
> eat of any
> tree except that one. That fruit was off limits," He remarked, "But  
> did they
> listen? No. There are consequences, people!" Meanwhile, Morgan  
> Freeman sued
> the senator for infringement of "look and feel." --76.18.66.115  
> 02:37, 19
> September 2007 (UTC)".
>
>
> Brian.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: foundation-l-bounces at lists.wikimedia.org
> [mailto:foundation-l-bounces at lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of  
> David Gerard
> Sent: 06 November 2007 15:19
> To: Wikimedia Foundation Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Foundation-l] Do we need a Code of Participation?
>
> On 06/11/2007, Marc Riddell <michaeldavid86 at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> David, 'because everybody does it' is not an excuse to do  
>> something in the
>> Wikimedia Projects. Wikimedia must create its own distinct  
>> identity; and
> its
>> reputation and credibility will be a great part of that identity -  
>> and its
>> use of language a crucial part as well.
>> The language of social pages should not be the language of Wikimedia
>> policies.
>
>
> No, I mean it's actually, functionally speaking, the first rule of all
> social spaces on and offline.
>
>
> - d.
>
>
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