[Cz-editcouncil] request for small change in Approvals process

[M. BALDWIN-EDWARDS]

In reply to Matt's comment: I agreed to forward Warren's suggestion to the EC, but my own comment is that I am not very satisfied with several other aspects of the rules for Approval. This leaves us with the choice of making informal piecemeal adjustments like this one, or a wholesale reform of the rules. My personal preference is for the latter, but I am prepared to go along with majority opinion.

Martin Baldwin-Edwards
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: D. Matt Innis 
  To: The Citizendium Editorial Council 
  Sent: Saturday, February 16, 2008 8:52 PM
  Subject: Re: [Cz-editcouncil] request for small change in Approvals process


  Martin,

  I have a problem understanding this:

  "Also ensure that at least one editor currently supports the approval of the article 
  version mentioned in the approval template. If there is any reason to doubt editor
  support, request clarification before doing the honors. Reasons to doubt editor
  support include the nominated version not being the latest one and/or the existence of
  unanswered author critiques."

  Obviously there is editor support for the approved version mentioned in the template - that editor put it there.  This seems to suggest that the version in the template will not be approved if there are changes in the draft since the approval or if an author has made suggestions.  In that case, what happens?  Will the template be removed?  If so, can we add:  In the absence of such clarification, the sysop should remove the template.  That way, if the editor is not available, at least the article won't be approved until he does - which I think this thread was about anyway.

  Thanks.

  Matt Innis

  "M. BALDWIN-EDWARDS" <baldwin at panteion.gr> wrote:
    Dear colleague,

    I am forwarding a request for a small change of rules in how we Approve articles, made by Warren Schudy.We could pass this without voting, if nobody finds it controversial. Please comment. THe text is below.

    Martin Baldwin-Edwards

    The current approval process (http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/CZ:Approval_Process#Sysops_make_it_official_with_the_.7B.7BApproved.7D.7D_template) asks sysops to do the following before executing a pending approval:
    "Examine the talk page. Make sure it's clear that there are three editors who
    are in agreement about the approvability of the article, or, if it seems there
    is an individual approval going on, make sure that the person approving the
    article has not worked much on the article. (For that, examine the article's
    history.)"

    I propose replacing that text with:
    "Examine the talk page. Make sure it's clear that there are three editors who
    are in agreement about the approvability of the article, or, if it seems there
    is an individual approval going on, make sure that the person approving the
    article has not worked much on the article. (For that, examine the article's
    history.) Also ensure that at least one editor currently supports the approval of the article 
    version mentioned in the approval template. If there is any reason to doubt editor
    support, request clarification before doing the honors. Reasons to doubt editor
    support include the nominated version not being the latest one and/or the existence of
    unanswered author critiques."

    The rationale for this change is to ensure that sysops err on the side of not approving rather than approving when editor support is unclear. For further discussion, see http://forum.citizendium.org/index.php?topic=1563.msg14042. 

    Per Larry's request, I am hereby requesting your approval for this change.

    Warren Schudy
    http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/User:Warren_Schudy
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