Embrace+'Chaos'

=**Embrace Chaos**= Anyone with experience of wet lunchtime duties will completely understand this concept. They probably even know the serenity prayer by heart. Consider the wiki version… Please, grant me the serenity to accept the pages I cannot edit, The courage to edit the pages I can, And the wisdom to know the difference. || Working online in a collaborative site takes some courage and yes, a dose of ‘serenity’ and tolerance for the fallibility and plain, darn, foolishness of others (including ourselves). Contributing collaboratively relies on developing the respect of peers. Contributing in a global environment relies on establishing credibility with a much wider group. The idea of allowing open editing sounds chaotic. How would an online environment cope with unlimited input and egos ? Surely, we could end up with internal wiki wars where individuals stubbornly guard their personal contributions in the face of community dissonance and pressure, post thoughts and work of little substance, and vandalise the work of others – but, luckily, it doesn’t seem that prevalent. However, human nature being what it is, the effectiveness of this kind of online collaboration does rely on some mind-shifting and the development of community social customs. We manage these online spaces ‘by community’ and it appears to be working – take a look at [|wikipedia], the free, open content, community-built encyclopedia with thousands of community developed articles, in several languages. The management of such open wiki spaces has relied on community mores and ‘soft security’.
 * **The Wiki Prayer**

[|SoftSecurity] (Great explanation from the [|Meatballwiki] site) follows these principles (also in the Meatball wiki)…
 * **[|AssumeGoodFaith].** People are almost always trying to be helpful; so, we apply the [|PrincipleOfFirstTrust], confident that occasional bad will be overwhelmed by the good.
 * **[|PeerReview].** Your peers can ensure that you don't damage the system.
 * **[|ForgiveAndForget].** Even well-intentioned people make mistakes. They don't need to be permanent.
 * **[|LimitDamage].** When unpreventable mistakes are made, keep the damage within tolerable limits.
 * **[|FairProcess].** The theory that being transparent and giving everyone a voice are essential management skills.
 * **[|NonViolence].** Do no violence lest violence seek you.

= = =As the kids would say we need to “chill” and expect the best of people.=

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