PortlandWiki talk:Policies

Proposed PortlandWiki Policies

The following policy proposals were put forward:

• PortlandWiki:Cooperate (see Meta:Cooperate)
• PortlandWiki:Be respectful and civil (see Meta:Be respectful and civil)
  

Perhaps we can roll the above proposals into one: Cooperate. Some might interpret a policy of "be respective and civil" as one that discourages expression of conflicting points of view. On the other hand, a policy of cooperation allows people with opposing viewpoints to strive for constructive engagement even while expressing vehement disagreement. WikiMaster (talk) 11:32, 31 August 2010 (PDT)

I'm actually thinking it's the opposite, being civil and respectful to me doesn't mean you can't respectfully disagree; whereas I think "cooperate" could be interpreted as stifling disagreement. That said, I agree we should combine them; they're basically the same thing (be nice to each other while you help build the wiki). I'd be happy with either term "cooperate" or "be respectful and civil". And with either, the actual description of the policy should clarify that civil disagreement is good. So anyone actually reading the policy should understand what it's about.

I just went ahead and started the page: PW:Cooperate. Let me know what you think. -kotra (talk) 15:27, 1 September 2010 (PDT)

We may both be striving for essentially the same goal; "cooperate" seems closer to a workable definition from my perspective and "respectful and civil" appears to be so from yours. Either way, the goal as I understand it is to encourage unfettered expression that is coherent and does not inflict abuse. (And is also relevant to the Portland community.) Perhaps "respectful and civil" is a better way of stating this. Can we come up with language that gets the essential idea across without potentially throttling or otherwise discouraging genuine (yet civil, respectful and perhaps even cooperative) discussion? WikiMaster (talk) 15:50, 1 September 2010 (PDT)