Wikipedia:Concordia

This page is currently inactive and is retained for historical reference.
Either the page is no longer relevant or consensus on its purpose has become unclear. To revive discussion, seek broader input via a forum such as the village pump. Wikipedia "membership organizations" were met with considerable hostility by the editing community; see WP:ESPERANZA and its MfD for why this project can never be restarted. For a complete different and less combative approach to making Wikipedia less, well, combative, see WP:TEAHOUSE. It was last substantively updated March 2007.

This project is officially inactive as confirmed by this Miscellany for Deletion discussion.

Concordia was an organization of editors on Wikipedia that strived to encourage civility and fair treatment among all editors in the Wikipedian community, from the WikiGnome to the Wikiholic. The project was designed to foster a friendly and helpful environment to support Wikipedians confronted with incivility, hostility, or continual disrespect. Concordia also aimed to continually preserve the five pillars that define Wikipedia's character and Wikipedia's guidelines for civility.

The word Concordia has many meanings, from the Latin word for "harmony" (literally "with (one) heart") to the Roman goddess of harmony and concord.

"Civility costs nothing, and buys everything" —
Mary Wortley Montagu

About us

We are a community-driven project; however, we have no official position within Wikipedia. Our group strives to encourage fair treatment for all Wikipedia users and to improve civility in Wikipedia.

A civil Wikipedian environment is conducive to more productive Wikipedians.

If you have something to add to this page, then add it. If you have a goal that is relevant to the group, or way we could accomplish a relevant goal, then please tell us.

What we are not

Concordia members are not moderators, judges or anything of the like. We simply believe that civility makes the Wikipedia a better place.
Concordia members are responsible for their actions: Concordia, as an organisation, is not.
Concordia members aren't given superiority over any other Wikipedian on the grounds that they are a Concordia member
Concordia is not a bad faith organisation.

Our goal

Our goal, put very simply, is to encourage the community to maintain civility so Wikipedians may state their opinions in an appropriate manner. We hope to promote civility within the community to make Wikipedia a nicer place to work. We believe that the significance of civil conversation in the interaction of all Wikipedians is sufficiently important in and of itself to justify that it be given the kind of attention it can receive from an organization such as this one.

The understanding of rights & responsibility as a Wikipedian

Editors should not discriminate against other editors for their beliefs or how they express them, so long as they have behaved suitably. If you have an issue with any user because of their actions, express your concerns to them in private (not in a public discussion, for instance) and do not hold their actions against them, but instead be civil and assume good faith. This helps make Wikipedia easier to work in, and helps prevent disputes from forming.

Respect for the five pillars of Wikipedia

These pillars form much of the basis of Wikipedia, and are central to it. They should be respected by all editors, no matter how long or much they have edited here. People should ensure their edits are within these base rules in order to retain structure within the community.

People keeping cool heads

One pillar mentions keeping a cool head in a hot situation. This is easily broken, especially in high-profile straw polls. How about a nice cup of tea?

People should remain civil, if not friendly, to each other at all times and try to find common ground between one another through negotiation, as they would do in real life situations.

People should always follow Wikipedia's rules of civility, and they should be properly enforced.

What is Concordia?

Concordia is an organization an of editors on Wikipedia that strives to:

Encourage civility and fair treatment amongst Wikipedians to benefit the encyclopedia
Provide a friendly and helpful environment to support any unfortunate Wikipedians that have become victims of incivility, hostility, or continual disrespect
Preserve the five pillars that define Wikipedia's character and Wikipedia's guidelines for civility

How is Concordia any different from other organizations such as Esperanza,the Kindness Campaign, and the Harmonious editing club? Isn't Concordia redundant?

There are many other organizations in Wikipedia. However, none has as its main goal the encouragement of civility. For example, Esperanza has as its goal the creation of a stronger sense of community among Wikipedians.We acknowledge, respect, and support the goals of other organizations in Wikipedia, However, we believe that the significance of civil conversation in the interaction of all Wikipedians is sufficiently important in and of itself to justify that it be given the kind of attention it can receive from an organization such as this one.

What are the requirement to become a member? How many members does Concordia have?

Anybody is welcome to become a member, whether they have been a member for a minute or year, made 10 edits or 10,000. To become a member, just add your userpage to the category Wikipedians in Concordia. However, Concordia became, and was until recently, inactive. Concordia was even nominated for deletion.Very few of the listed members are active today.

Tasks

The members of Concordia are working on many things to promote civility and develop this organization. Some of these are listed below.

Spread the Five Pillars.
Encourage civility with 'minor trinkets', e.g. a coffee cup and a few words.
Promote civility and peace, rather than warping into enforcing justice.
Roll-out civility barnstar.
Work with users to help develop long term solutions.
Help collaborate to solve civility issues on AfDs and articles.

Discussion

You can talk on our talk page or on IRC channel. The IRC channel is not hosted on Wikimedia servers, but at freenode. Because of this there are separate rules for the IRC channel.