Printable Version of Topic

Click here to view this topic in its original format

_ MediaWiki Software _ User-bannable talk pages?

Posted by: emesee

Anyone else think that they should add a feature for talk pages so you could give permission for only certain people to post.... like people who you actually are glad post something, opposed to those who make you say yak.gif ?

Posted by: Somey

QUOTE(emesee @ Fri 15th May 2009, 12:00am) *
Anyone else think that they should add a feature for talk pages so you could give permission for only certain people to post.... like people who you actually are glad post something, opposed to those who make you say yak.gif ?

I was thinking about enabling that feature here on WR, oddly enough...

As for MediaWiki though, why not? Sounds like a great idea, though I'm sure they'd come up with all sorts of exceptions, caveats, and logging requirements that would make it completely useless, not to mention impossible to implement. Exempting the admins alone would probably make it not worth the trouble.

Posted by: Viridae

QUOTE(emesee @ Fri 15th May 2009, 3:00pm) *

Anyone else think that they should add a feature for talk pages so you could give permission for only certain people to post.... like people who you actually are glad post something, opposed to those who make you say yak.gif ?


Silly idea. Users should be contactable by everyone.

Posted by: Somey

QUOTE(Viridae @ Fri 15th May 2009, 12:38am) *
Silly idea. Users should be contactable by everyone.

Dammit, Viridae, you're looking at the problem logically, instead of narcissistically! How long can you really expect to last on WP if you keep this up?

What would be really cool would be if you could set up your talk page to launch a massive worldwide zombie-botnet DDoS attack against anyone who posts to it, if you happen to be feeling a little sensitive that particular day.

Posted by: Malleus

QUOTE(emesee @ Fri 15th May 2009, 6:00am) *

Anyone else think that they should add a feature for talk pages so you could give permission for only certain people to post.... like people who you actually are glad post something, opposed to those who make you say yak.gif ?

What about also banning tv and newspapers from reporting bad news? Good news only from now on please!

Posted by: taiwopanfob

QUOTE(Malleus @ Fri 15th May 2009, 12:03pm) *
What about also banning tv and newspapers from reporting bad news? Good news only from now on please!


But I do this all the time: I refuse to watch them. I recommend the practice too, as it opens up huge swaths of time in your life.

But how can I do the same at Wikipedia? The current software essentially forces you to read 'your' talk page. If you refuse, every page is decorated with the "YOU HAVE MESSAGES .. STOP EVERYTHING AND DEAL WITH THEM NOW, SLAVE!" box. The Drama Machine demanding attention.

This suggests that if white-listed talk-pages are ideologically offensive to the so-called "collaborative environment" -- a ridiculous position, if asserted, given that everyone with a cellphone or email white-lists all the time - then at least allow users to disable message notifications, or, better, to allow notifications to be customized by editor.

Either way, recall that the ultimate purpose of the project is not to "collaborate", send barnstars or nastygrams around and generally participate in the Giant Group Hug From Hell, but to actually create useful content. Some people simply do not wish to waste time engaging with the teenagers.

Posted by: taiwopanfob

QUOTE(Viridae @ Fri 15th May 2009, 5:38am) *
Silly idea. Users should be contactable by everyone.


Users -- especially the female ones -- should also upload pictures of themselves in an undressed state. Provocative poses can be optional.

If that seems at least a tiny bit ridiculous, well, it's because it is extremely ridiculous. What would such a photograph do to serve the purpose of the project?

Can not the same question be asked of the user-talk pages?

Some people may want them, some people may not want them. You already give users all sorts of other preferences -- its why 'joining' has value -- so this extra one seems like a no-brainer.

And if you ever need to get in touch with an editor, well, you know, you can always try the talk-page of the articles she is working on. True, this tends to discourage idle chit-chat and focus the conversation on the job at hand, but Some People might find that a Feature and not a Bug.

Posted by: emesee

QUOTE(Malleus @ Fri 15th May 2009, 5:03am) *

QUOTE(emesee @ Fri 15th May 2009, 6:00am) *

Anyone else think that they should add a feature for talk pages so you could give permission for only certain people to post.... like people who you actually are glad post something, opposed to those who make you say yak.gif ?

What about also banning tv and newspapers from reporting bad news? Good news only from now on please!


how about i have the right to force obnoxious publishers from contacting me? blink.gif

do not call lists... do not spam lists... huh.gif

and if i want to not subscribe to papers that have a fetish for bad news, and don't want em to contact me then, goody. yak.gif

@taiwopanfob , right on.