Every Chinese name for every Chinese thing has a long Chinese history, often stretching across millenia. Wars, rival states, and blood feuds alternate with long periods of relative stability and unity, during which the preferences of the current regime are painstakingly graven, not merely in stone, but in blood. The traditional system of examination for aspiring bureaucrats put a premium upon conformity, while modern Chinese history is rife with examples of powerful leaders who attempted to define reality by enforcing rules about speech. The Chinese invented spin doctors (as so many things) while other peoples were still debating whether to honor their gods by slaughtering virgins or mere beasts.
PRC and ROC, whatever you call them, each have a number of fanatic adherants whose primary focus is on eliminating the language used by the other group. There is no such thing as a moderate or neutral position. Each side has defined all utterances not firmly within its camp as opposition. This is an Orwellian approach to winning a argument: Force all parties to discuss it in terms that guarantee the outcome.
The Wikipedia debate on What Is China is a mere reflection in a raindrop of a raging sea. We will not settle this issue here. To repeat: We will not settle this issue here. If you feel strongly about this issue, I address you directly: People who hold the opinion which opposes yours will be tolerated on WP. You will not win. They will not win. You may get rid of me, but you will not get rid of them.
Apology
editI admit I have spoken intemperately. For those readers who do not read Chinese, that is exactly what /*xiongxiong*/, 熊熊 means: "raging and flaming" -- that is, hopping mad. 熊, my Chinese name, simply means "bear", and I like to think of myself as a cuddly, sociable bear, the sort made into stuffed toys suitable for a small child's pillow. I often use strong language, but I assume we are all adults and can take a little ruffhousing. I don't mean any disrespect or intend any harm. Most of the time. I won't pretend I haven't been sincerly angry these past few days.
This issue has pushed me right over the edge. WP is the greatest thing to hit the net since -- hell, I don't know. It's the first project to even begin to fulfill the potential of Tim Berners-Lee's epochal concept of hypertext. Compared to WP, everything that has gone before is just SPAM. I cannot understand why anyone would vandalize it. And a senseless debate that rages out of control all over the project is just that: vandalism.
None of this justifies anger. It justifies action, but not anger. This is a lesson that has taken me a long time to learn, and I am still learning it. We live in a world in which a few arrogant Powers on one hand, and a great mass of fools on the other, squeeze the very life out of the substantial body of men and women of Good Sense and Good Will. We cannot combat Evil by becoming Evil, or even nasty, ourselves; we must remain polite and calm in the face of utmost provocation. Otherwise, we contribute to the problem, not the solution.
I offer my most sincere apologies to any who have been offended.
Jurisdiction
editThis holy war has disrupted WP long enough. Consensus on settlement is as impossible to achieve as consensus on the substantive issue or the language concerned. Imposition by fiat of settlement from without is vital to the preservation of the larger community. Longtime members, with official powers and authority, have failed exert control -- why, I cannot say. I despise those who abuse power and, given it, do my utmost to wield it fairly -- but in a case like this, I would fear no criticism. The situation demands immediate correction. Everyone is running away from the fire; I cannot say why I am running in, but Somebody must.
Despite my online handle in this and other forums, I am not Chinese; merely a Pennsylvanian who suffers from a fascination with all things Chinese. All things, that is, barring the bitter dispute which brings me here today, away from much more interesting editing tasks, not to mention installation of a newly purchased computer game. So, for the duration, I am no longer merely 熊， but 熊熊。 By virtue of my position as a truly disinterested and neutral party, I assume the burden of imposing a settlement upon the combatants.
Settlement (v2)
editThis is proving a Stygian task and I must scale it back. I retract limitations on edit wars; you can indulge until some Real Authority stops you. However, my remedy for uncontrolled debate stands.
- Debate on this issue (substantive debate, metadebate, terminology debate) shall not disrupt the community or overshadow legitimate discussion of other Chinese issues. All debate on this issue will take place here: User:Xiong/Chinatalk. I will take no responsibility for imposing civility on that page.
Metametadebate
editI will not entertain metametadebate (for example, "You don't have a right to do this!" and "This will never work!") on my personal Talk page. You may chide me here: User talk:Xiong/Chinatalk. Your criticism may well be deserved, and if you make it in the designated place, in a civil tone, I will do my best to respond. Metametadebate found on my Talk page will be moved here soonest.
Enforcement
editThis is not a proposal; it is a statement of my personal intent. I will move out-of-control debate where it belongs. I should dearly love to extend myself to other hotly debated debates, but "China and What It Is" is enough for one man. This is my settlement.
Arrogance, WP Policy, and the Powers-that-Be
editI maintain that I am fully within WP policy in my actions -- which, by the way, I now restrict to discussion areas. It is always appropriate to archive debate and split overly long pages -- and any page upon which this debate spills instantly goes overlength. Every such page is flagged right at the top of the edit box, and encourages me to do something about the technically disruptive length of the material. Preserving and moving all such debate to a central location is correct action and entirely in policy. As the material I move is all discussion material, which should not have been subjected to revision, cut-and-paste archival is appropriate and, indeed, prescribed. I do not arrogate any special power to myself; I merely fulfill the duty of every Wikipedian who finds a mess on the board.
If you have been long here and gained much power, perhaps you simply feel anyone as small as myself should stand in the corner and be quiet. You know, I pretty much agree. I don't mind a little lively discussion about the pitfalls of pinyin or the fallacy inherent in equating databases with DBMS. But I would not stick my head into a buzzsaw unless I thought it absolutely necessary.
If you think I shouldn't be doing this, I strongly suggest you go ahead and do it yourself. You can do it better than I -- not only due to your greater power, but due to your greater experience and to the greater respect you command. You can probably think of a better way to do it, perhaps even a better thing to do. Just don't tell me everything's going to be okay when it so obviously is not.
One way or another -- even if it means a stinking nobody sock puppet has to take the bullet for it -- all Wikipedians need to see Somebody stand up and defend the principle of a civil, collaborative, congenial, constructive community. Vandals, trolls, fanatics, and One-thing People must be shown that this is not the place for their kind.
And that is my very last word--for now. — Xiong (talk) 02:18, 2005 Mar 26 (UTC)