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

Fri Nov 9 07:39:48 UTC 2007

This is sad and pathetic. And I mean "pathetic" in the sense of
"arousing sadness and compassion".

A code of conduct tells people "We don't trust new people, and we have
problems with each other, and we don't know how to build a community."

Which is something that would be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

On 11/5/07, Erik Moeller <erik at wikimedia.org> wrote:
> I've been thinking a bit about the whole issue of civility, and other
> expectations that we may have from our editors.
>
> While Wikimedia has a stronger tradition of civility than most online
> communities, we still often fall short -- and perhaps part of the
> reason is that we never ask our users to explicitly "opt into" the
> core cultural principles of Wikimedia. Rather, we expect that they
> will "soak them up" simply by being exposed to them in practice.
>
> There are a few reasons why I think an explicit opt-in to a small
> number of core principles would be a good idea:
>
> * It means the user has to make an explicit choice. This may make them
> more likely to think about those principles, to internalize them, or
> to recall them later.
>
> * It makes it clear that, "Ignore all rules" or not, there are
> non-negotiable principles upon which the project is founded.
>
> * It establishes more firmly the idea of "being a Wikimedian" -- it
> contributes to a shared identity, across all projects.
>
> I favor an opt-in statement that is _not_ a bunch of legalese "Terms
> of Use", but short and to the point (possibly even illustrated :-).
> Implementation-wise, it would be something that's part of the sign up
> procedure. Rather than adding yet another checkbox, we could simply
> use the existing account creation captcha image as a confirmation
> method.
>
> If we do this, it would, in my view, be wise to ask any existing user
> to also confirm their agreement with these principles upon their next
> login.
>
> Here's a (very rough) example text:
>
> - - -
> I agree that, as a member of this community, I shall
> * treat others with respect and kindness, and assume good faith in
> their actions;
> * participate in service to the mission of this project:
> [one-line summary of project's mission, e.g. "to create a freely
> licensed encyclopedia"]
> * disclose any conflicts of interest, and recuse myself from editing
> where they could impair my judgment.
> - - -
>
> Obviously this would still need a lot of editing. Whichever bullet
> points would be considered most important, I believe the total number
> should be limited to 3 to 5.
>
> Thoughts?
> --
> Toward Peace, Love & Progress:
> Erik
>
> DISCLAIMER: This message does not represent an official position of
> the Wikimedia Foundation or its Board of Trustees.
>
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