I won't have time to write up any specific wording until Saturday, but I have some ideas for
Manifesto amendments to restructure the way things are run.
For some background, the catalyst for this change was pizaaplanet's resignation. While he and I may disagree on the nature of the problem, I think we both agree that there is
a problem, and that's what I'm aiming to address here. None of us can change what's already happened, but we can try to extract lessons from past events.
This thread is just a brain dump of the things I've been thinking about. I'd like to get some idea of whether there is broad support for these changes before pushing them any further.
Here's what I'd like to change, in a nutshell:
Establish a Manifesto amendment processThe current Manifesto text says that:
Amendments to the manifesto may only be made with the express
authorisation of both Steven McDonald ("Parsifal") and "pizaaplanet".
Every new revision must be given a new version number, which
shall be an integer that is numerically greater than every
previously published manifesto version.
I would like to replace this with a popular vote. Ultimately, the Manifesto is there to govern how we represent you, and anyone should be able to propose and vote on amendments.
This would be the first change, to enable other changes below to be voted on by you.
Prohibit administrators from moderatingThis was raised (
by Thork, in fact) just a few days after this website was founded. At the time, I thought it was a good idea, and I refrained from moderating for a while on a voluntary basis without codifying it into the Manifesto.
However, I believe admins doing the bulk of the moderation is one of the primary contributing factors to recent events. When there is a dispute between two moderators, that dispute can be resolved by an admin, as an impartial observer. As we have observed, a dispute between two admins can spiral out of control, with nobody having the ability to step in and make a final decision.
Therefore, I propose that we draw a distinction between the types of activities delegated to admins and mods, with a provision that admins should refrain from moderating entirely under normal circumstances. The exact wording of this will be difficult to get right, but I believe it will be worthwhile.
Establish a democratic election process for moderatorsI would like to
trial a democratic appointment process for moderators. Specifically, I would like to open nominations and hold a popular vote to elect two new moderators, with some criteria set to measure success of the trial. If successful, it merits consideration to amend the Manifesto to provide for regular moderator elections.
The goal of this change is two-fold. First, it encourages moderators to be responsible to the people they moderate on behalf of, if they wish to be re-elected. Second, it gives you, the people, a greater say in how things are run.