[WikiEN-l] The difficulty of retaining volunteer writers

Fri Dec 2 16:56:53 UTC 2005

SlimVirgin is about to leave, and Essjay has already left. 
And I'm so upset by recent events that I'm poised on the brink, 
too. It seems the only way to deal with breakdowns in 
collegiality is simply to leave - or say you're considering 
it.

The emotional cost - not to mention the time cost - of stopping 
a fellow contributor from directing abusive language at 
another contributor has always been rather high, but it has 
reached a new high of late.

By defending SlimVirgin against what FuelWagon HIMSELF conceded 
was an "accusation" (his words), I find myself hauled before the
arbitration committee. I am told that I must say something in 
MY DEFENSE, with dark hints of un-mentioned adverse consequences 
to me if I just leave it alone.

It's just too much trouble to sift through FuelWagon's 2000+ 
word statement (which should only be 500, by the way). 

He made a personal attack, I blocked his account for 3 hours. 
No one has told me (by email, IRC, or wiki talk page) that I 
have done wrong in this.

And yet I feel embattled. 

I'm labeled the bad guy.

This is not an environment conducive to collaboration, and I am 
reminded of what Yogi Berra said: "If people want to stay away 
from the ballpark, you can't make them."

For those unfamiliar with Yogi-isms, this translates to 
thousands of potential contributors simply staying away from 
Wikipedia.

Not because it's hard to edit, 
 but because it's hard to defend the edit. 

Not because it's hard to discuss topic "whatever", 
 but because it's hard to endure the name-calling, 
 humiliation and accusation on [[talk:whatever]].

Perhaps I've been too bold in trying to take matters into my own 
hands. So be it. I'm a dinosaur, I'm not scaling with the project. 

Okay. Fine. I'll do whatever I'm told. Ask mav: if I'm told what 
to do, I do it.

So what's the solution? What is the solution for all of us?

Ed Poor (in exile)