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User:Blood Red Sandman/ArbCom talk with Tempo

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The discussion was held between Tempodivalse and I in IRC. After obtaining xyr permission, I am uploading it here as it addresses a key issue. It has been edited to fix mistakes in wording that were immediately rectified and had no bearing on the discussion. It has also been edited to remove conversation from others who have not given permission for publication of the private chat log.


  • [21:07] <Tempodivalse> in other words, i commented
  • [21:08] <BloodRedSandman> to me, the problem is [not] specific userboxes as such. If you want to say you like coffee, say it. Don't make a template. That is the view.
  • [21:09] <Tempodivalse> But, does it realistically make any difference?
  • [21:10] <BloodRedSandman> that is something for wider community discussion i.e. my comment that the policy contents be decided by a larger audience
  • [21:10] <Tempodivalse> Server space was Amgine's argument, but impact is minimal
  • [21:10] <BloodRedSandman> Time is mine
  • [21:11] <Tempodivalse> As I just said on WN:RFAR, do we have an ongoing problem with bad userboxes?
  • [21:12] <Tempodivalse> I'm generally against employing policies unless they actually help something that's wrong.
  • [21:13] <BloodRedSandman> As a user, I'd be pissed if I spent ages making userboxes and THEN you said, 'oh, we banned that now. we weren't going to bother unless you actually started doing it'
  • [21:13] <Tempodivalse> About the worst thing I've seen is the Twitter userbox, and that is not completely irrelevant
  • [21:13] <BloodRedSandman> ^^^
  • [21:13] <BloodRedSandman> enWP etc do love their userboxes. we want to import users. lets not import that alongside.
  • [21:13] <BloodRedSandman> a little bit is fine; even one or two stupid ones
  • [21:13] <Tempodivalse> We could be like wiktionary, and ban any userboxes taht are not babel
  • [21:14] <Tempodivalse> I like that, actually. Focus on content.
  • [21:14] <BloodRedSandman> hmmmm.... tempting
  • [21:14] <Tempodivalse> But realistically, even if someone had started a ubx-creation spree, would anyone have cared - or even *known* - about the arbcom's decision way back when?
  • [21:14] <BloodRedSandman> what does that have to do with my comment?
  • [21:15] <Tempodivalse> wait, isn't that what you said? maybe I misread. *checks*
  • [21:15] <BloodRedSandman> i was commenting on not acting until there was a problem
  • [21:15] <Tempodivalse> "As a user, I'd be pissed if I spent ages making userboxes and THEN you said, 'oh, we banned that now. we weren't going to bother unless you actually started doing it'" ?
  • [21:15] <Tempodivalse> Oh.
  • [21:15] <BloodRedSandman> "I'm generally against employing policies unless they actually help something that's wrong."
  • [21:16] <BloodRedSandman> and your comment before that, were what i was responding to
  • [21:16] <Tempodivalse> Never mind. i think I misunderstood your meaning, sry
  • [21:16] <Tempodivalse> OK, I understand now ...
  • [21:17] <BloodRedSandman> lol :p :)
  • [21:17] <Tempodivalse> Text-only communication is not always the best way to convey one's feelings, I've found.
  • [21:18] <Tempodivalse> Or meaning
  • [21:18] <BloodRedSandman> im fairly used to it. of course, being young, i've spent a major portion of my life doing it
  • [21:18] <Tempodivalse> Anyways, my point is that I don't think there's any specific problem here that needs to be addressed
  • [21:19] <BloodRedSandman> I do feel sorry for any enwp user who comes accross and becomes the one to create the problem
  • [21:19] <Tempodivalse> If we do decide to ban "This user likes the Simpsons" then we should make that clear so that people dont' go around creating it and then get upset when it is deleted.
  • [21:19] <BloodRedSandman> yeah
  • [21:19] <BloodRedSandman> i can think of a few good things to add to such a policy; I will say them on-wiki when the time comes
  • [21:21] <BloodRedSandman> id say we allow a few VERY basic fun-ish things, but no more. I cba elaborating on that; like I said, ill set it all out properly onwiki in due course
  • [21:23] <BloodRedSandman> Tempodivalse: May I have your permission to post our discussion just now about the case on-wiki? It raises good points
  • [21:23] <Tempodivalse> Certainly
  • [21:24] <Tempodivalse> BRS: Stuff like one's employment, one's hobby, link to twitter or facebook account IMHO should be allowed, as they aren't completely irrelevant to Wikinews. But "This user likes maple syrup" or "This user likes the Simpsons" needs to go because it doesn't further project goals and only wastes time.
  • [21:25] <Tempodivalse> Then again, we dont' have an ongoing problem with that.
  • [21:25] <Tempodivalse> Which is why I dont' see the urgent need to instate a policy on it.
  • [21:26] <BloodRedSandman> I can agree on this. However, I maintain that a user who liked userboxes has every right to be upset if they try to bring that to Wikinews, create the new problem and then finds that we now decide to ban what was allowed before.
  • [21:27] <BloodRedSandman> Okay, Tempo, I'm going to post our talk on a subpage of my userspace
  • [21:27] <Tempodivalse> Sure ...
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