I just re-checked the mail list ; it's been sent only to Bluerfn and me. Below are the contents :
E-mail 1
Hey guys, I want you to take a look at this. Bluer, for b-crat's sake and Trois, because you've talked extensively with DTN before as well and I want to know if you have anything to add.
http://freetexthost.com/sq4pvffgg4
This was taken from FF Wiki chat by a concerned party, one of our IRC and Wiki regulars.
As the subject implies, this concerns me greatly. DTN is not only showing some pretty big disrespect for the wiki as a whole, but towards maggosh specifically. I have no idea what's turned him against maggosh so strongly, considering they used to get along so well. And as we know, this isn't the first time he's had an issue with another editor.
There was also another chat I was sent by a different editor: http://freetexthost.com/kepf3pgaow Password, I think, is "downwithdtn". Granted, this shows this editor's feelings towards part of the situation, but I don't think it can be ignored.
You'll note between those two chats, DTN seems to be recruiting friends from the FF Wiki. To what ends...I don't know. It might be support for something else, it might be for stress relief, it might be for nothing at all. Much as I hate to think this, I'm afraid Featured Media is an example of where part of this might be headed; while it's true there are no rules barring first-time voters from Featured Media, the second chat plainly shows his disdain for the spirit of the thing by recruiting voters for his nomination.
I can't also help but think, in light of some of those comments, that perhaps this may have something to do with the attack on the Fanon wiki earlier today. I'm really hoping that's not true, but the possibility can't be entirely ignored.
I don't know where all of this spite and resentment has come from, but it seems me it might be leading to bigger issues down the way, and I'd like to put a stop that for the enjoyment of the other editors on the wiki. If you have any ideas or questions, please let me know. If you feel the need to share this with other staff members, at the KH Wiki or elsewhere, please do. Like I said, I think this needs to be known to others, in case something happens.
Thanks and have a good week,
Kate
E-mail 2
Note : This one was between Bluer and me, but was CC-ed to me.
DTN, IMHO, got to becoming that ever since he got mixed up with the FFWiki IRC crowd. Urged on by Drake, Faeth, Hexed and BH, DTN gets the courage to act the way he is. I have seen several convos between him and the FFWiki regulars and it seems that they get a kick out of flustering the chatters at the KHWiki chat. It's really akin to trolling behavior, doesn't it? A respectable and polite note had been given to said people by TNE but has sadly fallen on deaf ears.
It is trolling, plain and simple. They are causing these actions with the intent to rile, anger, or annoy other users. In the case where it gets directed to specific editors, it could even be considered harassment.
Also, forgive me but I am not sure when the chat decided to take a worksafe approach. You do know that minors are protected by the COPPA and it is that reason why Wikia decided 13 year olds and younger cant join Wikia and/or the Freenode decided not to allow access to the age group, because it exposes them to problems, such as this trolling behavior.
The PG-rule has been in effect for ages now, a year at least, if not more. And yes, while the 13 or younger has been a point, it has also been pointed out constantly that there's not thing there to actually stop someone from faking an age and signing up. The actual number of editors who claim to be younger than 13 I can count on one hand, though. A big part of it was also respect; there were some who were offended by constant cursing and not much else (especially on the part of a certain aforementioned FF Wiki regular you've already mentioned up there). In the end, the community chose to go PG, and we've run with it ever since.
Ironically, one of the biggest proponents of that rule was DTN. Even more ironically, he was pretty good at ignoring it when egged on, as you've noted.
The Featured Media is one which we lax in, since it's supposedly there just for enjoyment, but when people start to take the fun out of it all, well, it really pushes it. Of course, intervention is needed. DTN should be advised regarding his conduct. Wikia may not be the same as Wikipedia, but the basis of wikiquette still applies. Conduct yourself well with others, and you will be treated as appropriate. Perhaps we should keep watch of the users who come in and vote. Perhaps we should eliminate voting altogether. We must take care that the Featured Media plays with Non-Free Images, Images of which should be treated for encyclopedic purpose and not simply just to dab it in in a project page.
This is the very first time in the entire year and a half Featured Media has been run by votes that anything like this has come up. As you said, it's purely for fun and editors have been excellent at treating it as such until now. I'm a bit remiss to suddenly go to staff-chosen images just because it went wrong once.
You'll also note the very first guideline is, after all "The media should represent and support the article or articles it appears in," which corresponds with the encyclopedic concept. The Archive is for quick reference purposes more than anything, since we've had occasions where people have nominated images that have already won and wanted a place someone could check to see if they were accidentally re-nominating something, but if you think that's an issue, it can be removed.
Perhaps a forum thread could be open to the public. We've known this to happen now. Leave a note at said user's talk page? That is the standard practice after all, since that's why discussion pages are installed in the Wiki software. I personally avoid discussing wiki-influencing subjects in the IRC for the benefit of people who access the wiki most of the time.
A note at the talk page of the person in question would be fine; I'm not sure what we'd need a forum thread about at this point, unless it's to address a more general issue.
Most, if any, big wiki discussion I do is not on IRC for the exact reason said. I think the only large wiki chat was done by staff members during the election-before-last, and that's a moot point now anyway. The only wiki-related correspondence I've gotten has tended to be more of a private nature, such as the concerns I was sent that spawned this e-mail in the first place.
My thoughts, of course YMMV. I would love to hear any suggestions if anyone has some more specific ideas of how to address some of the issues above.
Thanks,
Kate
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