User:Buster7/Wikiknights
UNDER CONSTRUCTION, see also http://meta.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Buster7
GRAB A BRICK!
| Description |
Albrecht Duerer: Ritter, Tod und Teufel (Der Reuther), copper engraving, 246*190mm | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Source |
| ||
| Date |
1513 | ||
| Author |
Albrecht Duerer | ||
| Permission |
PD | ||
| Other versions | image:Duerer - Studie Reiter 1495.jpg and Image:Duerer - Ritter zu Pferde.jpg |
The Knights of Ancient Time followed a moral, religious and social code of conduct. Their lives were structured by the tenets of Courage, Honor, and Service. Chivalry was the name given to the outward expression of their inner being. The exact meaning of Chivalry changes, depending on the writer, the time period and the region therefore a comprehensive definition of Chivalry is elusive. But, in the tradition of the "knight in shining armor", a description of a Wikiknight would include words like valor, glory, morals, justice, Laws, adept at war, civility, tradition, loyalty, elequence, dexterity, love, diplomacy, intelligence, nobility, leadership, considerate, bold, artful, credible (trustworthy/believable). That's a long list of conduct-challenging words.
This is the genesis of an idea. Ive only been here a week so it may be a bit early to begin a WikiMedia Project. And WikiMedia may not be the correct location. But EdColins told me to be bold ........so away we go!!!
Lost Souls
editOne of the more troubling aspects of my early days as a member of Wikipedia is discovering "lost souls". As with most "newbies" (I would guess) I'm jumping here and there and everywhere. Reading articles, discovering the lay of the land, creating an exceptable user page, daring to make the occasional edit. And, also, looking for acceptance and maybe a little guidance. The discussion pages are filled with wonderful conversations and more than a little verbosity. Its an advantage to be able to get a feel for an editor and then be able to go to his/her user page and find some more about who they are. But...here's the rub. Often times that editor has given up..."I fought the good fight, but enough is enough","...the attacks become too personal, too mean-spirited", "...I didnt sign up for this"..."I was really wasting my time...." "It was enormously fun at first...Please make Wikipedia not suck!" "......because I was spending more time defending articles than improving them"---And they leave.
Perhaps the "newbie" gets involved with an article at a level that they are just not ready for---too inexpierienced. Or, they get enbroiled in an editing war with a bureaucratic editor or administrator. WikiJargon starts to flow, things get said, threats are made, names are "called", the newbie is discouraged. The Wiki-Experience changes. The Wiki-Experience ends!
Early Days
editIt would probably do us all a WikiWorld of good to remember (each on our own) our individual early days at Wikipedia. How bright-eyed we were. How exciting the place was. OMG...The challenge of your first edit. Probably just a minor edit...punctuation more than likely! But you were hooked. You joined a World-wide phenominom (sp). As you wandered around your sense of the enormity of the place grew. You got a sense of what a free-flowing, ever-changing, stimulating project it was. And you wanted to be involved.
WE
editWiki-Editors....WE....How much cleaner can it get. It says it all. WE...A Unifying term, a reminder that WE are all in this together. A "Don't Bite the Newbies" kinda thing. Let's leave the edit war behind for a second and remember who WE are. How it was when WE were young and innocent. How WE felt when WE were chastized for the first time. How WE couldn't believe that our good faith was being challenged...by 5 people...all at the same time and place. Also, how WE feel to be a part of something that is endless. Talk about FutureMind!!!!
The Knights
editSo my idea is.......this is where the Wikiknights come in...to save the day, to save the person that joined but is now dissillusioned, to be a cohort when a cohort is needed, a friend when it seems all have turned away. To show up at a revert war and defend the indefensible. Of course, I am not referring merely to any edit war (etc) where the #'s are out of proportion. The situations that need a cohort, seem to me, to be obvious...like pornography. "I know it when I see it"
But...right now...my trusty steed needs to be "bedded' for the night...and the escutcheon fell off my coat of arms, and so....I must bid thee farewell...--Buster7 03:04, 9 May 2008 (UTC)
WikiJourney
edit
Is your Wiki-Journey really over? Are you going to let the naysayers win? What if your Wiki-experience had taken a slightly different course? Maybe what you need is a new direction, a new sandbox to play in (so to speak), a new set of priorities. I cant prove it but I KNOW that if a person merely changes their mind, they change their experience. Wikiknights are there to help forlourn editors change their minds. Most Wiki-editors start with high hopes, high purpose, high regards for others. Each Wiki-life is different. But, for some,sadly, the roads travelled have led to the same place---discontented and disheartened.
- Wikipedia's design flaw is the same as any open free society. It can not always control the actions of its citizens/members. Vandals, grafitti, trolls, loud mouthed oafs, over-zealous "trigger happy" editors and administrators- all negative, childish choices. V-G-LMO/OZEA All enemies of Wiki-Wonderful.
- Vandalism, graffitti, "broken windows" (V,G and BW)---all have a negative effect on "the neighborhood." Residents, workers, and visitors are all effected. The neighborhood is castigated and branded, much as Wikipedia is experiencing right now. Creditability is challenged. The Wikiknightsite/effort is not to get the vandals, Others have taken up that mantle. There is alot of technological support in that direction. Wikiknights is focussed toward the "Lost Souls" that become discouraged and "move out of the neighborhood". The analogy to a neighborhood is "right on". If we are not vigilant the cancers of V,G OZE/A AND BW will bring about the downfall of the society we call Wikipedia.
The time spent in an edit war is wasted time, for the most part. It is time that is lost. The value of an editor that gives up cannot be measured. Good Faith Editing (GFE) should not be a rare commodity.
BROKEN WINDOWS
editBased on an article titled "Broken Windows" by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, which appeared in the March 1982 edition of The Atlantic Monthly.[2] The title comes from the following example:
"Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it's unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside. Or consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of trash from take-out restaurants there or breaking into cars." A successful strategy for preventing vandalism, say the book's authors, is to fix the problems when they are small. Repair the broken windows within a short time, say, a day or a week, and the tendency is that vandals are much less likely to break more windows or do further damage. Clean up the sidewalk every day, and the tendency is for litter not to accumulate (or for the rate of littering to be much less). Problems do not escalate and thus respectable residents do not flee a neighborhood.
- Unless I am mistaken, the arrival of a kindred spirit to a sitution is soothing. It's a part of the healing process. Sure, Wiki__________ tell us to forget about it, step aside, go do something else, etc. But, a sense of doom starts to build. Wikiknights dispell that "doom quality".
Tactics of a Wikiknight
editFor obvious reasons, the tactics that are available to a Wikiknight are not available to the general public. That would defeat the purpose and provide opposing SIC/CC editors with a blueprint for encroachment and destruction...kind of like Cancer! The tactics have been honed to a sharp edge, much like a surgeons scalpel. However, they are under investigation and are currently being updated (many haven't been used since The First Crusade.) As you can clearly see in the image above, work on the tunics continues. The trusted steeds necessary for quick response are rested and "chomping at the bit" for action. The call has gone out to the Winds of Wikipedia for Noble Knights. Training will soon begin. Change is in the AIR! Can you feel it?
- MORE IDEAS AT DISCUSSION PAGE
OOOOO
edit- SIC.........Spanish Inquisition Cabal
- CC..........Cavil Cabal
- SIC/CC....a possible Death sentence
- GFE........good faith editor
- OZEA......Over zealous editor or administrator
- LMO........loud mouthed Oafs