[WikiEN-l] The userbox fad

Thu Jan 5 15:57:48 UTC 2006

On 1/5/06, Peter Mackay <peter.mackay at bigpond.com> wrote:
>
> > From: wikien-l-bounces at Wikipedia.org
> > [mailto:wikien-l-bounces at Wikipedia.org] On Behalf Of Carbonite
>
> > My comment wasn't about having an attitude
> > of "I've been here longer, I know better!", it's about users
> > who view Wikipedia primarily as a social club where they
> > occasionally edit an article. In my opinion, someone who
> > makes a vast majority of their edits to their user space
> > probably is less worthy than those who actually work to
> > improve the encyclopedia.
>
> There are better social clubs available on the net. If socialising is
> truly
> their main interest, then they'll go elsewhere soon enough.

There are no social clubs available on the net with the prestige of
Wikipedia.  It is a top 20 website.

 But so long as
> they aren't actually doing any harm, then why not praise their
> constructive
> efforts, instead of trying to chase them away? The more we make Wikipedia
> a
> cheerful co-operative community instead of a battleground, the better for
> all concerned.
>
>
When they argue about policy with longtime editors who actually know
something about policy, they *are* doing harm.  They are wasting the time
and trying the patience of someone who is actually contributing to the goal
of the project.

Jay.