Group 2 Dispute Results

Proposed Idea

This is what I propose to write on HD Format Talk Page. If anyone has any objections to this, or using this page to discuss it please let me know.

Hi, I am one of a group of students at Harvard Law School who has been given an assignment to become involved in a dispute on wikipedia and help resolve it. We wanted to let you know this to allay any fears that we were alter egos of other parties already involved in this dispute since we have low levels of contributions to wikipedia. Wouldn't one solution to this problem be to create several graphs, showing the historical and future breakdowns of the blu-ray vs. HD-DVD market? That way, not only can you account for future changes but readers will also be able to see how the market developed over time.

I think this is a good way to get people talking, since the main issue seems to be how to address the future change of Warner Bros. to Blu-Ray only, without being misleading. Other suggestions could be to simply have the graph with a caveat (right now the text mentions the change but the graph still lists Warner Bros. as supporting either). The other option, is obviously, the status quo and wait to change it until June. Lk37 12:13, 6 January 2008 (EST)

I agree with Lindsay that we should use this spot to collaborate on this assignment, and she was already doing so as I tried to save the text below. Unless Brad has some radically different idea about how to approach our introduction on the talk page, I'm fine with Lindsay's proposed intro. Do we want, though, to make a suggestion about the multiple graphs right away in the first posting? My only thought is that we might want to have several options to lay out, possibly even with pros and cons. Or that we devise a plan for sequencing our mediation, based on what we believe the reactions may be. Giving all the variants of the graphs in a time progression seems like a common sense solution, although one that might be objected to by readers of the article (vice the discussion of it) as being too confusing or cluttered. (Although a link to a series of graphs with changes over time could reduce clutter and just be an option for those sufficiently interested.) I would also think that this may have been suggested earlier and rejected for some reason, although I've not yet been able to thread my way through the arguments to see if that's the case. I'll do so this afternoon. --Tseiver 12:29, 6 January 2008 (EST)

I'm fine with Lindsay's introduction, although I agree with Tom that maybe we'd like to have a few different ideas to float around. Brad suggests two, either making a series of graphs to account for changes over time or leaving the status quo and making a footnote to the graph. I'd also add the option of leaving the graph but making a heading about the future changes and putting in all the reliable information that's been collected through press releases and newspapers so far.

Also, I know Brad can't meet today, but does tomorrow before class work for everyone? --Anna

I just read through the talk page, and a lot of the discussion revolves around a policy/ practice distinction; some of the editors are saying that the pie chart should reflect Blu-Ray/ HD-DVD policy and others are saying that the Warner Bros slice should remain purple to indicate current practice of releasing both kinds of discs. I think that a problem with multiple graphs is that it seems impossible to make an accurate graph that reflects the situtation in June 2008--even if we know that Warner Bros is going to switch, theres no way of predicting what decisions will be made by other studios. Also the current graph is based on 2007 market share, so using the same graph for 2008 seems inaccurate. So I agree that multiple graphs may be a good solution, but perhaps one graph based on which studios currently produce Blue-Ray/ HD (which would look like the current one) and one graph based on which studios have given their "formal support" to Blue-Ray/ HD (which would make Warner Bros blue). Alternatively, maybe the problem could be solved by changing the word "support"--the use of this word in the entry seems to be giving rise to the policy/ practice arguments on the talk page. Maybe the entry could be edited so that the graph (and text) explain that these are the studios that currently RELEASE Blu-Ray or HD discs, and the graph could stay the same but note that Warner Bros will stop releasing on HD in June 2008. Thoughts? I also think this might be easier if we meet in person (perhaps tomorrow before class?) to discuss. Samantha Lipton 15:26, 6 January 2008 (EST)