Editor Log: August 2002 (idea)

In my previous logs, I have discussed topics such as:

• Editor cools, restricted use
• Editorial prejudice, right and wrong
• Softlocking, when to do it

This month, my topic is politeness. Now, the standard of politeness (as has been observed by many scholarly blokes, most notably Norbert Elias) is a function of the society it operates in. One man's courtesy is another man's rudeness. However, in terms of our present environment, courtesy follows a commonly-defined standard. Here are some of the instantiations of that standard, as I see them:

• An admin (editor or god) who nukes a writeup must be polite enough to message that user with an explanation (usually utilising the Klaproth function). Ideally, the message must be signed, but in the case of very busy admins or very obstreperous or vindictive noders, the signature may be omitted.
• Writing in response to someone else's remarks, whether in a node or in the catbox, requires some sense of propriety. Don't resort to ad hominem attacks. Don't quote without attribution. Do take your opponent's ideas seriously, and grant him the respect of trying to respond to them with dignity.
• If you are new, do remember that this place has a standard of decorum all its own. Take the time to understand it, and make the effort to grasp the fact that it's not like anything else you've ever done.
• If you've been here for a while, keep in mind that even editors and gods find themselves frequently surprised when a new user comes up with an innovation or a viewpoint that had never occurred to them before. Don't assume that you have all the answers - because you don't.

Now, if I could just be of sufficient strength of character to live up to my own principles...

Nose to the grindstone:

• Edited
  • Piet Mondrian by Professor Pi (August 4, 2002) - Fixed formatting error: unclosed pipe link.
  • Rise of Apocalyptic Literature by ephealy (R.I.P.) (August 5, 2002) - Fixed formatting error: pipe link beginning with double brackets.
  • Kaiser Wilhelm II by id1984 (August 5, 2002) - Corrected Hindenberg to Hindenburg; "it's" to "its"; Treaty of Versallis to Treaty of Versailles. More corrections, but I can't be arsed to list them.
  • Covenant by Mortice (August 9, 2002) - Added Wilco to the list of Covenanters.
  • Heka by Ophois (August 10, 2002) - Minor HTML corrections. Damn good WU, deserved to look perfect.
  • What to know before you invest in stocks by Christopher Vo (August 12, 2002) - Broken hard link.
  • Oliver Messiaen by Pedro (August 12, 2002) - Minor HTML, added a few hard links, and stuff.
  • Covenant by Mortice (August 18, 2002) - Added Kage Prototype to the list of Covenanters.
  • Roundel by Gritchka (August 18, 2002) - Fixed special character errors.
  • "He weighs the eggs of flies in spiderwebs." by lakeonfire (August 18, 2002) - Corrected HTML and French mistakes.
  • 1900 by mauler (August 21, 2002) - Changed "Max Muller" to point to Max Müller.
• Killed, with penalty
  • Why The Ass is Fat by darchangel (August 10, 2002) - "We don't have any use for this."
  • The Lion and The Witch by AdamDorsey (August 12, 2002) - "This is a waste of your time, and mine."
  • ashtanga by sjlain (August 21, 2002) - Cut'n'paste, repeated offense.
• Killed, mercifully
  
  • whimsical rhyme by whimsy (August 3, 2002) - Nuked by request.
  • lunnerfast by alphapartic1e (August 4, 2002) - "This sort of home-grown slang doesn't really contribute to the database."
  • icon by Cermain (August 4, 2002) - Superseded.
  • IDE by Usefulman (August 4, 2002) - Superseded.
  • IDE by mlockhart (August 4, 2002) - Superseded.
  • Paul Schrader by jjgifford (August 6, 2002) - Superseded.
  • exaust manifold by elaine (August 8, 2002) - Node title typo for exhaust manifold, filled with a WU requesting deletion. Instakilled.
  • Kotondo Torii by Cornelius Scarecrow (August 9, 2002) - "The content of this WU bears far too much resemblance to www.hanga.com/bijin-ga/kotondo/ - you know that we don't allow this."
  • philosopher's stone by Dano (August 9, 2002) - "No hard links, and a stand-alone quotation without explication."
  • Me chinese by hackthemainframe (August 9, 2002) - "No, I think we can do with out this."
  • Gogol by MediaTracker (August 12, 2002) - "There is already a larger and better writeup under Nikolai Gogol. Before you node something, take the time to see whether it already exists elsewhere in E2."
  • A Really Sick Family by dogganos (August 14, 2002) - "We don't need this."
  • blowpig by m0nkey (August 14, 2002) - "No, we definitely don't need this."
  • How i tried to get high off nutmeg by nico_slim (August 18, 2002) - Empty WU.
  • Military Aircraft Prefixes by DataJunkie (August 18, 2002) - Superseded.
  • US military aircraft designations by Nero (August 18, 2002) - Superseded.
  • US military aircraft designations by metalangel (August 18, 2002) - Superseded.
  • ABCD by Bilal (August 18, 2002) - "This isn't really very useful, is it?"
  • jackhammer by jackhammer (August 19, 2002) - Egonoding.
  • The editors are not your mother by dead (August 20, 2002) - "While I agree with your sentiments, the Wu is not much of a contribution to the database. This is better off as a nodeshell."
  • astanga by sjlain (August 21, 2002) - Cut'n'paste.
  • Sri K. Pattabhi Jois by sjlain (August 21, 2002) - Cut'n'paste.
  • Orson Scott Card by clampe (August 22, 2002) - Superseded.
  • Orson Scott Card by yam (August 22, 2002) - Superseded.
  • Aragon by Woundweavr (August 23, 2002) - Superseded.
  • Akbar by ophie (August 23, 2002) - Superseded.
  • El Helio by SkipWiley (August 23, 2002) - "We don't really appreciate made-up stuff like this, especially when you stuff it into a lot of nodes. If you're going to write fiction, write it up in a single node, and do it with style."
  • The Biskit by SkipWiley (August 23, 2002) - "Apply those comments to this WU, too."
  • 51st State by Lord NAgasaki (August 25, 2002) - Superseded.
  • Wellington Yueh by Saxo Man (August 25, 2002) - Superseded.
  • The Historicity of Christ by kyberuserid (August 26, 2002) - User warned repeatedly about factual errors in text. Failed to respond. Was nuked with the message: "Since you seem to have totally ignored my editorial remarks to this node, and haven't even bothered to respond, I believe a nuke is in order."
  • Admiral Motti by pealco (August 30, 2002) - Superseded.
  • Reign of Fire by ShakyTumbleweed (August 31, 2002) - "I'm sorry to tell you that this is so far below acceptable review standards that I consider it impossible to rescue. Better luck next time."
• Editor cooled
  (As is my self-imposed rule, I shall try to restrict myself to 3 ed-cools a month)
  • How to run a roleplaying game (August 4, 2002) - As an experienced gamemaster (20+ years of gaming experience), this appealed to me. A bunch of solid factuals on the planning and execution of a good RPG campaign. What's not to like?
  • Rule of 72 (August 12, 2002) - Very handy info, and good background information, both mathematical, historical, and anecdotal.
  • Plagiarism (August 19, 2002) - Not only explains the meaning, but the philological and moral implications. Sterling nodestuff.
• Firmlinked
  • ( ... )
• Softlocked
  • Minority Report (August 14, 2002) - "By now, most critical aspects of this film have been covered in the writeups here present - and numerous spoilers revealed. If you think you have something new to say, contact a god or editor."
  • I can't decide whether to change the world or just become a bitter recluse (August 14, 2002) - "Whole lotta hermitin' goin' on - but this must be enough. If you have something worthwhile to say here, you must convince a god or editor to unlock the node."
  • Drinking games (August 30, 2002) - "This has developed far beyond the normal limits of GTKY nodes. Besides, it's 'Be Kind To Mr. Liver' Week."