[WikiEN-l] Exit Interview -- Jon Awbrey

Thu Jun 29 17:20:37 UTC 2006

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WikiPediatrics 101.  Diseases of Infancy
Symptomania 1.  Inversion of Priorities (IOP)

The pages on [[WP:POLICY]] clearly identify the three content-definitive and
non-negotiable policies of WP as [[WP:NOR]], [[WP:NPOV]], and [[WP:VERIFY]],
reiterating three times over on each of their individually dedicated pages,
with no substantive variation, the following norm of participation in WP:

* These three policies are non-negotiable and cannot be superseded
  by other policies or guidelines, or by editors' consensus.

Pending a properly controlled study of WikiPediatric epidemiology (Proposal Pending),
it is this observer's estimation that the most prevalent IOP is the one that inverts
the priorities of the superordinate policies cited above and the unofficial dictates
of what is here nomenclated as "De Facto Consensus" (DFC).  DFC must not be confused
with Genuine Consensus -- defined as the absence of dissent -- DFC as it's currently
observed in WP means that any three users, or evatars, coming to agreement in a half
hour period, can impose their absolute dictatorship over the direction of an article.

If it were merely a matter of educating users about the standardized meanings of the
words "consensus", "non-negotiable", and so on, then there might still be some cause
to hold out a few dim hopes, for a better prognosis or a gradual remediation, but if
WP administrators continue to exhibit themselves, as they do in my experience, to be
every bit as (1) ignorant of, or (2) indifferent to these principles, then that is a
sign that the condition is terminal.

Jon Awbrey

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inquiry e-lab: http://stderr.org/pipermail/inquiry/
wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/user:Jon_Awbrey
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