# Intro
There was recently a minor (but potentially polarizing) wiki.d.o EN language
incident, which unfortunately left me with a "not-good feeling". It warranted
being captured, possibly discussed wider, and ideally improved upon.
This is a long writeup. I have tried to add section headings to help with
navigation.
For the record, I do not know "JasonJMitchell", and this is the first
"interaction" I recall with this individual.
# <rant>
While I'd prefer to apply my energies on other tasks, such as continuing to
explore Debian and my scanner, or more importantly writing Mayor LaToya
Cantrell of New Orleans expressing the injustice of converting the 300+ year
Congo Square historical site into a multi-level automobile parking garage and
new Citi hall office building... this wiki.d.o incident strikes pretty close
to where I have been applying myself for a couple years now.</rant>
############
#
# Sequence of events, as I Fede Grau (donfede) observed them:
- (2021-09-02) JasonJMitchell makes a minor edit to the SecureBoot wiki.d.o
page, changing "enrol" to en_US style "enroll". This appears to be the
user's first wiki edit, with a detailed commit message.
https://wiki.debian.org/SecureBoot
https://wiki.debian.org/SecureBoot?action=diff&rev1=81&rev2=82
- (~2021-09-03) on IRC #debian-www Paul Wise (pabs) comments on the above
edit, and questions if "international english" should be used, and if a
"policy should be created to standardize on that" (based on my faint memory,
as I did not retain logs for that channel, aside from the two
screen-captured lines listed below).
- In this IRC discussion Steve McIntyre (Sledge) responds he may undo this
edit.
- I Fede Grau (donfede) contributed my 2-cents, suggesting the edit should be
left and this may not warrant explicit policy (which turns out was already
in place -- *to use US English* ).
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianWiki/EditorGuide#Translations
#debian-www on OFTC
(2021-09-)03_10:19 * donfede not sure there is value for a policy on english (or other major languages; e.g. es_ES vs es_AR) dialects on the wiki
(2021-09-)03_10:21 * donfede looks like a single recent edit by JasonJMitchell; maybe leave it as "organic community entropy" :)
- (2021-09-03) Steve McIntyre reverts the edit by Jason J Mitchell; there had
been no further discussion on IRC that I saw and it's unclear if there was
elsewhere.
https://wiki.debian.org/SecureBoot?action=diff&rev1=82&rev2=83
- (2021-09-04) Jason J Mitchell updates wiki EditorGuide and discussion pages
to match the actions of this incident.
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianWiki/EditorGuide
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianWiki/ConventionsDiscussion
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianWiki/EditorGuide?action=diff&rev1=128&rev2=129
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianWiki/ConventionsDiscussion?action=diff&rev1=122&rev2=123
- (2021-09-04) I learned of the changes to EditorGuide by Jason J Mitchell,
via an automated-email from the wiki. These changes seemed odd or agitated,
and I commented about them on IRC #debian-www . After a brief chat it
became apparent that this was likely a reaction to the revert by Steve
McIntyre.
############
#
# Thoughts and concerns
- First despite my potentially forward or brash persona, I wanted to start
recognizing and thanking Steve McIntyre for the many years of service and
effort with Debian, including extensive stewardship of wiki.d.o and past
tenure as DPL. May there be many more, with continued good fruit.
My intent is not to engage or escalate.
The community strength is rooted in coming together and improving.
- Similarly I fully recognize that in the meritocracy, my contributions are
minimal or practically insignificant.
From one point of view, I really enjoy wiki.d.o (among several other public
and private wikis), and would optimistically like to continue being more
involved with this team helping with future administration and improvements.
There is a lot of opportunity.
- However, I will express concern over the recent wiki admin actions, and feel
they border on heavy-handed use of powers. While on the one hand, "it's a
wiki, anyone can do anything" ... one might expect admins and regular
contributors to know/function better. In particular there seemed to be
limited discussion and hasty action during this event (from my view).
############
#
# Some recommendations
I Fede Grau (donfede) subjectively recommend:
a) Revert change 83 on the SecureBoot page, aligning with the EditorialGuide.
https://wiki.debian.org/SecureBoot?action=diff&rev1=82&rev2=83
b) Reach out to user JasonJMitchell apologizing about the misunderstanding.
b1) Ideally welcome them to the community and thank them for their efforts.
b2) (Optionally) point out there had begun some debate on "lingua franca".
c) Possibly consider an improved forum with more inputs to review editorial
language policy changes.
c1) The output goal should be to constructively cleanup the wiki.d.o
EditorGuide and discussion pages.
d) Hopefully in the future admins should strive to be more gentle, probably
even more so with newer users, with the goal of continued community
growth.
# tips from wiki.d.o https://wiki.debian.org/DebianWiki/Contact
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianWiki/FeedBack
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Dispute_resolution
I also fully recognize that it's also possible those in power decide my ideas
are off base, and "this is the way wiki.d.o is".
However, be cautious of potential fractures in the community. That stance
does not align with my values, and others may feel similarly.
# <rant2> BLM
Why mention NOLA and Congo Square? What is Congo Square (and Louis Armstrong
park)?
While most enslaved Blacks in North America and the US were prohibited from
practicing their African heritage and culture (as white US slavers attempted
to dehumanize their captives), the peculiar mix of cultures and communities
(including African, Native American, Creole, Cajun, Spanish, French, US, and
Canadian) in New Orleans permitted enslaved Blacks to commune peacefully in
Congo Square on Sundays. There they could practice their music and dance. It
is pretty clearly established that Congo Square is the birth-place of many
popular musics that enrich our lives today, including Gospel, Jazz, and the
Blues.
Congo Square is located in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, a
predominantly Black community, rich in culture but impoverished. Recently the
NOLA Mayor decided without community feedback to begin plans to "develop"
Congo Square.
Much like I have benefited for decades from Debian and its community, the
musical products of Congo Square have shaped me as an individual.
Black Lives Matter
Black culture matters
https://www.change.org/p/mayor-save-the-municipal-auditorium-in-new-orleans
https://www.neworleans.com/listing/congo-square/32200/
https://www.nola.gov/parks-and-parkways/parks-squares/congo-square-louis-armstrong-park/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Square
https://nola.gov/mayor/ -- Mayor LaToya Cantrell
</rant2>
wear a mask and get vaccinated,
donfede
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