Friends don't let friends get sanctioned

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Bark ... sanctioned

This has been doing the rounds late!y, and since it is written by a sitting Arbitrator, it says a lot about what has gone wrong with the culture of Wikipedia.

The entire premise of the essay is flat wrong.

A proper Wikipedia editor is willing and indeed capable of listening to anyone, regardless of their personal relations. This is analogous to the principle, comment on content not contributors. That can be rephrased, listen to the feedback not the person. Good feedback is good feedback.

A shit Wikipedia editor is one that only listens to their friends (for example, EEng).

A shit Wikipedia editor is someone who only speaks up when it is their friend that is in trouble.

It says a lot about the culture of Wikipedia, that if you saw this essay hosted in EEng's user space, you would assume it was a guide for how to avoid long overdue sanctions by rallying friends to your defence. The concept of friendship on Wikipedia is simple, and mirrors the real world concept closely. Put simply, it's friends before policy. Friends before Wikipedia. You do whatever you need to do, to get your friend out of trouble. And you never ever get a friend into trouble.

Thankfully in the real world, there are serious consequences if someone in a position of responsibility lets a friendship get in the way of their duty. Wikipedia of course isn't in the real world. But of course, for at least ten years, they have been trying to legitimate Wikipedia as if it were.

People often wrongly assume Wikipedia was shit in the early years. That somehow now it is a more enlightened place. This is merely an expression of annoyance by current editors that friendships were less important back in the day. The culture back then made far more use of principles such as Defend Each Other, despite the community being way smaller with far more actual friendships.

They knew what it meant to say Wikipedia is a collaboration where everyone is equal. It only mattered what, not who.

It's all fucked now.