[WikiEN-l] An open letter

Sun Jun 29 20:10:37 UTC 2003

Jimmy Wales wrote:

>While I understand and sympathize to a degree with what you're saying,
>but I must point out that we are under an obligation -- strategically,
>if for no other reason -- to extend every courtesy to the bitter end.
>
>One of the things that's really helpful to me in making and defending
>these banning decisions is a _clean paper trail_.  When a good person
>has an outburst like yours -- no matter how warranted by the
>circumstance -- I can rest assured that it will be quoted back to me
>as evidence of my inconsistency because I didn't ban or reprimand
>you, when I did ban or reprimand someone else.
>
>Sure, cause and effect and "who started it" matters.  But those things
>also get lost to history, to a maze of counter-allegations.
>
>It's better when we are all courteous and kind, even in the face of
>extreme provocation.
>
>Everyone who was named as an "example" of rude behavior by "Joe
>Canuck" should examine their own actions.  Are we consistent, if we
>insist on good behavior from others, but don't insist upon it for
>ourselves?  We almost all fail in this regard from time to time --
>such is the human condition, I guess -- but we should strive for the
>best within us.
>
I very much support  an approach based on kindness and courtesy, and 
even when some of us get carried away with our anger we can soon gain 
control of our emotions and go back into some kind of "normal" 
behaviour,  Unfortunately, a few of our regulars to hold onto their 
perceptions of wrongdoings like bulldogs without leaving much latitude 
for escaping from the grind that accompanies some of these issues.  

The number of our persistent problem people is surprisingly small when 
you discount all the multiple personalities that some bring  into the 
subject.  Reading through the unending e-mails about this handful is 
perhaps one of the least pleasant tasks on the mailing list. I gave up 
trying to read  Joe Canuck's purported defence after the first few 
paragraphs.

There is much to be said about having a due process policy for dealing 
with these people, and a page set aside for each of them where anyone 
can see what they did, and their sins are properly documented and dated. 
 Details of their banning, and the conditions for their return can also 
be there.  When a newbie asks what they did that was so wrong we can 
always simply refer them to that page without needing to keep going over 
the same material again and again.

Ec