As a general rule of thumb I try to avoid the debates on the English Wikipedia these days. I much prefer the low-drama community surrounding MediaWiki development as opposed to the drama-mill that enwiki has slowly become over the years.

I came across an RFC today in regards to a new “Advisory Council on Project Development” that the ArbCom has set up. I went back to read the original e-mail in which Jimbo set up the MedCom and ArbCom for enwiki. I fail to notice anything about ArbCom directing project governance or appointing a body to discuss this issue either.

I fear this is a major overstepping of the committee’s remit, and I am rather upset that they would choose to do this. It flies directly in the face of one of our guiding principles, that the community is ultimately responsible for the project and its direction. I understand the necessity of having functionary groups to carry out different tasks, else the wiki would’ve long ago degenerated into a useless scrapheap–some would argue it already has. This group is neither necessary nor desired, and I don’t see it filling some perceived void in the community.

For this reason, I have signed my statement of support for SlimVirgin’s statement, and I highly encourage others who still believe in “the wiki way” to do the same.