May 26, 2020 02:38 AM
https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/25/21269...nduct-vote
EXCERPTS: Wikipedia plans to crack down on harassment and other “toxic” behavior with a new code of conduct. The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, which oversees Wikipedia among other projects, voted on Friday to adopt a more formal moderation process...
[...] Wikipedia’s volunteer community can be highly dedicated but intensely combative, launching edit wars over controversial topics and harshly enforcing editorial standards in a way that may drive away new users. The Wikimedia Foundation listed harassment as one factor behind its relative lack of female and gender-nonconforming editors, who have complained of being singled out for abuse. At the same time, the project grew out of a freewheeling community-focused ethos — and many users object to the kind of top-down enforcement you’d find on a commercial web platform.
[...] last year, when the Wikimedia Foundation a respected but abrasive editor who other users accused of relentless harassment ...was suspended. The intervention bypassed Wikipedia’s normal community arbitration process, and several administrators resigned during the backlash that followed.
Amid all this, Wikipedia has become one of the internet’s most widely trusted platforms. YouTube, for instance, uses Wikipedia pages to rebut conspiracy videos. That’s raised the stakes and created a huge incentive for disinformation artists to target the site... (MORE - details)
EXCERPTS: Wikipedia plans to crack down on harassment and other “toxic” behavior with a new code of conduct. The Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, which oversees Wikipedia among other projects, voted on Friday to adopt a more formal moderation process...
[...] Wikipedia’s volunteer community can be highly dedicated but intensely combative, launching edit wars over controversial topics and harshly enforcing editorial standards in a way that may drive away new users. The Wikimedia Foundation listed harassment as one factor behind its relative lack of female and gender-nonconforming editors, who have complained of being singled out for abuse. At the same time, the project grew out of a freewheeling community-focused ethos — and many users object to the kind of top-down enforcement you’d find on a commercial web platform.
[...] last year, when the Wikimedia Foundation a respected but abrasive editor who other users accused of relentless harassment ...was suspended. The intervention bypassed Wikipedia’s normal community arbitration process, and several administrators resigned during the backlash that followed.
Amid all this, Wikipedia has become one of the internet’s most widely trusted platforms. YouTube, for instance, uses Wikipedia pages to rebut conspiracy videos. That’s raised the stakes and created a huge incentive for disinformation artists to target the site... (MORE - details)