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Blessed break
I'm going to be away until I feel some desire to resolve petty disputes among brittle people with no sense of proportion, only to be rewarded by constant accusations of malfeasance, endless criticism, and potential unindemnified civil liability. This break will be indefinite. Cool Hand Luke 15:38, 8 October 2009 (UTC)
- Note, I will still be active on the Lapsed Pacifist case, so if any issues come up, please tell me. I just don't want to edit on a daily basis for a while. Cool Hand Luke 16:06, 8 October 2009 (UTC)
- Obviously, you need to do what is best for you, and you know better than anyone else what that is. Still, when a voice of civility and reason withdraws because the outlaws holler, it is Misplaced Pages's broader society that suffers the loss. In the positions of authority that have been conferred upon you because of your superior ability to fulfill them—and which, as a volunteer, you have every right to relinquish anytime you want—you spend most of your time dealing with Misplaced Pages's very worst. By dealing appropriately with the very worst, you make the rest of Misplaced Pages that much better. And rest of Misplaced Pages is nothing like what you Arbitrators, or even admins, are constantly subjected to. It's actually pretty good. Tens of thousands (I've never looked at the stats) of volunteers(!) devote time daily to writing and improving articles. Some write better than others, some behave better than others, but, overall, it really works amazingly well. The ratio of productive to counterproductive participants is astonishingly high. Misplaced Pages's very best contributors devote hours here that they could use to write more published work. Anons are responsible for a high percentage of the infantile vandalism, but a high percentage of anons' edits are either constructive or at least well intentioned. Who would have guessed near the beginning that this project would have worked out as well, or accomplished as much, as it has?
- A problem in online "worlds" is that they exist only in written words, where participants never see one another or even hear their voices—missing clues that remind us we are dealing with other real human beings, with real feelings, and therefore how to behave. Because human nature evolved to protect us from maiming and death in a much more dangerous environment, people react to verbal conflict as though it were a real, life-threatening attack. It isn't, and it can't be. The stakes on Misplaced Pages, what one can actually lose or suffer, are almost nil. Conflict and aggression on-wiki is just words; it is only virtual, not real, conflict and aggression. It is very easy to lose sight of that, especially for those who are conscientious. It is admirable to want to do good work here as a volunteer, but to do that effectively and without justifiably hurt feelings you can't let yourself take it too seriously. (I say this as one who takes most things too seriously.)
- I hope you find peace in your blessed break, and then maybe some time to reflect on what all this is about. Then, very selfishly, I hope you will decide to return and continue to do what you have been doing here so well, but perhaps with less expectation of widespread appreciation (an all-too-rare commodity even in the real world) and less surprise that a tiny minority behave as badly, albeit only verbally, as they do.
- Sincerely, Steve Finell (Talk) 18:37, 8 October 2009 (UTC)
- PS: Speaking from a lifetime of professional experience, I can't imagine what you might have done on-wiki that could subject you to civil liability. Even in the unlikely event that some misguided soul actually sues you (threats are cheap, lawyers aren't), I expect that the Foundation would pay for your legal defense, and would indemnify you should the improbable and unthinkable occur.
Quorum
I couldn't resist myself in pointing out that with only eight active arbs, the committee is failing the quorum rules of the US SC which requires 50% plus one of the number of seats to be present to hold court. Happily Arbcom is exempt from such niceties. MBisanz 15:35, 8 October 2009 (UTC)
- We'll have to kick it to one of the the courts of appeal then, like how Judge Learned Hand decided the celebrated Alcoa antitrust case.
- Oh, wait. Cool Hand Luke 15:38, 8 October 2009 (UTC)
- If only old 28 U.S.C. 321, (date omitted), 16 Stat. 44 at Ch. XXII, §2, (1869) was still valid law (I'm sure you know how hard it is to find the date of USC sections that were superseded so long ago they aren't even in the current notes). MBisanz 18:08, 8 October 2009 (UTC)