[WikiEN-l] Re: Userbox reframing?

Wed Jan 11 16:16:31 UTC 2006

> How can we build a neutral encyclopedia while providing common
> resources to enable the wide propagation of such rabid political
> statements as "Love my Country —Fear my Government" (with  wikilinks
> to the articles on patriotism and neo-nazism) and "This user trusts
> the EU (an over-powerful, non-democratic bureaucracy) about as far as
> they can throw it"?

Well, we can and we are and it's not a *large* problem. But we'd still be
better off without.

I don't mind people ranting a bit against this and that on their userpages
but - if I may speak metaphorically - using the Wikipedia printing press
to mass-produce standardized stickers with glib political catchphrases
doesn't give people the right idea about this project.

Check out this userpage:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Quarl

This guy is now my poster-boy on how to use userboxes. His boxes are
useful and non-divisive but still whimsical and expressive.

But we need to *discuss* and *educate* not speedy-delete the same template
again and again and again and again as you did yesterday, Tony :) Maybe
some actions like that were necessary at the start to bring attention to
the matter but continuing them now is completely unnecessary. The issue
has all the attention it needs (and then some, I would say). Continuing
this "rouge admin" game makes this be about abuse of administrator tools,
not reaching a consensus on what is, all things considered, a relatively
minor issue.

Regards,
Haukur