User:Peterstrempel/Administrative-committee

 Scared Safe at night

The following was a response I left on the audit subcommittee talk page used to conduct the renditions of nominees for some arcane administrative function. My response indicates a newcomer's bewilderment about the appointments themselves, and about the intimidating, apparently crude process used to present a public face to what appear to be behind-the-scenes foregone conclusions.

Wow! If your intent for this page was to scare the living daylights out of Wikipedia contributors, you have succeeded. Have any of you got any idea how much like a KGB interrogation this stuff sounds? [redact revdel doubleplus ungood] Keep up the good work, comrades.[OS edit newspeak]

A couple of days ago I made some comments at http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/March_2011_Update on the things that might drive away or attract new contributors. This page is an example of something that would make me pull up my doona to my eyes at night, nervously glancing at my PC in the corner lest it suddenly wake from standby to display the message: 'You have been de-Wickied. Report to the central committee at once for confession of your anti-Wiki activities and de-briefing.' >[revdel redact quadrupleplus ungood]make me sleep safely at night. Your activities make me feel safe from decadent influences.[OS edit doupleplus good]

I was particularly taken with an exchange about the personal acquaintances of one candidate for this black-ops group which ended with a suggestion that a searching question was satisfactorily answered because the questioner only wanted to see the 'truthfulness' of the answer! Sounds like the comrade already KNEW. BigWiki is watching you. [revdel redact ungood][OS userfile + addendum]

The exchange reminded me of reported proceedings in the Australian Commonwealth Parliament in 1955, when Labor leader Doc Evatt, after having sent a letter to Soviet foreign minister Molotov asking whether the USSR was spying on Australia, read out the reply in Parliament: Molotov denied espionage. Strangely enough this reply from Mother Russia evoked prolonged laughter in the House. [revdel redact doupleplus ungood + newspeak/history/1955]

Yours may be serious business, but you might want to consider putting a slightly more human face on it. We are all still human beings, right? Not just Wikinyms? The stiff, bureaucratic formality of the whole things is as scary as the shadowy powers you allude to. The almost standard use of acronyms everywhere makes the discussion almost impenetrable - except to you, of course. Is that the way you want it? When do the black-ops archives emerge from secrecy blackout? [revdel redact + useragentstring + addendum]I am heartily gladdened by your tireless work to protect the integrity of our consciences and souls.[OS edit quintupleplus good]

Do they let you guys carry guns? Sorry. Didn't mean that, comrades, honest. I'll just go change my identity, pack my bags and flee to somewhere no one knows about Wikipedia. Urr ... there doesn't seem to be anywhere on the planet that fits this description. [OS redact + userfile + useragentstring terminate xtrprej]

Congratulations, comrades. Keep up the good work.[OS edit tripleplus good]

Peter S Strempel Page &#124; Talk 02:14, 18 March 2011 (UTC)