[WikiEN-l] Anons banned from creating articles

Wed Dec 7 15:17:07 UTC 2005

Perhaps if you're a scientist the experiments are better designed.  I, for
one, often create experiments simply to see if something will work better
than it did before.  I believe that is the definition being used here by
Jimbo.  Moreover, most people seem to hold this definition of the word.

Finally, despite all the philosophy regarding human nature, I will continue
to apply good faith in this situation until such time as I feel that it can
not be used.  Yes, we as humans tend towards centralization of control and
of all things for the purposes of simplification; I do not see that as being
the root cause of this issue, though.  There was a problem, and it
demonstrated an inherent problem  in the system.  To solve that problem
steps have been taken in an attempt to see if the problem will be corrected.

--Martin

On 12/7/05, The Cunctator <cunctator at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 12/6/05, Martin Osterman <stonewallgrant at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Perhaps my newness to the encyclopedia (member as of March, 2005) has
> left
> > me feeling naieve.  However, I'm inclined to give Jimbo the benefit of
> the
> > doubt.  He says it's an experiment, so I'm inclined to go with that.
> >
> > On what grounds do you suggest that this is a "permanent policy change"
> in
> > the guise of an experiment?
>
> Primarily because experiments are better designed. I think part of the
> problem is that what I'm thinking of as an experiment is different
> from how Jimbo's using the word. He's probably just using it to mean
> "I'm making a change and I'm not 100% certain of what will happen,
> even though I'm pretty sure it'll be good."
>
> Whereas I expect "experiment" to mean "I'm making a change and I don't
> know what will happen, but I've put in place mechanisms to measure as
> many of its effects as I can, so that I will be able to determine
> whether it is good or not."
>
> My suggestion is also based in a little appreciation for the
> immutability of human nature, which suggests that all institutions
> institutionalize, that is, tend towards restrictiveness, hierarchy,
> and centralization of control. Steps in that direction are rarely
> reversed. This is a small step, but its direction is clear.
> _______________________________________________
> WikiEN-l mailing list
> WikiEN-l at Wikipedia.org
> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit:
> http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l
>