Experiment traps incompetence in admins, what happened next?
Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 4:34 pm
The Wikipediots are currently arguing over how to handle hopeless drafts. A speedy deletion criteria, G13, already exists to delete stale drafts. It is a simple yes/no test - has it been edited in the last six months? A sceptical Wikipedian decided to prove that before they get into the weeds and make new policy, they should know the current policy is already widely abused. He designed an experiment, erroneously tagging articles for G13. Two administrators were found to have deleted four pages without even checking if the tag was appropriate, or failing to spot it was. It all happened in an out of the way area, so no real chance of external scrutiny of how it all really works occuring, which is now they like it........
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?ti ... experiment)
What happened next is typical of Wikipedia. An Arbitrator no less, roundly attacked the editor for his disruption, and explained that in their view, which carries significant weight as an Arb, it's an "underlying assumption" that taggers have done the required checks, and besides, their experiment proved nothing because of its small sample size. They stopped short of saying this means Admins can just mindlessly mash the buttons and let the complaints department deal with any mistakes, but it's hard to read their comment as anything but an endorsement of this view. The admins themselves faced no action, they didn't even feel the need to bother to turn up and explain or apologise. Neither was sent away for reeducation, or even asked if this was a momentary skip or a hard wired problem. Then Beeblebrox just shut the whole thing down as a distraction.
This is a salutary lesson in Wikipedia governance/ethics. Process and procedure doesn't mean much to these people, right up to the highest levels, and certainly not if it gets in the way of what they think is necessary pragmatism. Speedy deletion is about taking out the trash, and it is big job. So big I guess they don't much care about minimising mistakes, even though that obviously causes editors, particularly n00bs, to become confused or disillusioned or downright angry. If so, they really should make that clear in policy/procedure as well as common practice, because preventing mistakes is really the only reason Administrators are supposed to check a tag has been placed legitimately, before hitting delete.
As someone said in the debate, someone like Fastily being inattentive in this area, can have serious repercussions, given their love of using automation to make the process of garbage disposal resemble an exercise in global thermonuclear war. They have a long history of treating the backstop procedure as the first and only line of defence against mistakes. Nobody has ever really cared. Out of sight, out of mind.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?ti ... experiment)
What happened next is typical of Wikipedia. An Arbitrator no less, roundly attacked the editor for his disruption, and explained that in their view, which carries significant weight as an Arb, it's an "underlying assumption" that taggers have done the required checks, and besides, their experiment proved nothing because of its small sample size. They stopped short of saying this means Admins can just mindlessly mash the buttons and let the complaints department deal with any mistakes, but it's hard to read their comment as anything but an endorsement of this view. The admins themselves faced no action, they didn't even feel the need to bother to turn up and explain or apologise. Neither was sent away for reeducation, or even asked if this was a momentary skip or a hard wired problem. Then Beeblebrox just shut the whole thing down as a distraction.
This is a salutary lesson in Wikipedia governance/ethics. Process and procedure doesn't mean much to these people, right up to the highest levels, and certainly not if it gets in the way of what they think is necessary pragmatism. Speedy deletion is about taking out the trash, and it is big job. So big I guess they don't much care about minimising mistakes, even though that obviously causes editors, particularly n00bs, to become confused or disillusioned or downright angry. If so, they really should make that clear in policy/procedure as well as common practice, because preventing mistakes is really the only reason Administrators are supposed to check a tag has been placed legitimately, before hitting delete.
As someone said in the debate, someone like Fastily being inattentive in this area, can have serious repercussions, given their love of using automation to make the process of garbage disposal resemble an exercise in global thermonuclear war. They have a long history of treating the backstop procedure as the first and only line of defence against mistakes. Nobody has ever really cared. Out of sight, out of mind.