User:SoledadKabocha/essays/The talk page paradox restated
The optimal quantity of discussion on a talk page is neither zero nor infinity. It's a nontrivial problem to find that optimal quantity.
When "B" leads to "R," we need "D" to keep things civil. However, if discussion were required before every change that has any potential for controversy,[1][2] we wouldn't accomplish anything soon enough.
Wikipedia is so large that RC patrolling can't substitute for watchlists; also, not all discussion is equally productive.[3] That's why we need to be bold in the first place, and thus we need to go through the BRD process to arrive at an optimal volume of discussion.
See also edit
- Wikipedia:Paradoxes#Process paradoxes, the original talk page paradox
Footnotes edit
- ^ I originally wrote "significant change," referring to non-minor edits to the article namespace
- ^ An even more restrictive criterion than 0RR
- ^ In other words, mere willingness to respond to discussion does not imply competence; when Randy in Boise gets involved, the result is more heat than light. See also User:Jnc/Astronomer vs Amateur