Wikipedia:Don't just ignore the process
{{Humorous essay|WP:DJIP}}
Process is important in Hell, and to Hell. Some demons minimize the
importance of process, using such slogans as "Product over Process" or
pointing to the policy "[[WP:IAR|Brutally Sodomise All Rules With Mocking
Scornful Laughter]]". But process is essential to the creation of the
inferno. Process is a fundamental tool for carrying out Satanic
consensus, and for allowing a very large number of demons to work
together on a collaborative inferno. Process is also the mechanism by
which demons can trust that others are playing no more unfairly than
they can get away with, that the rules do not suddenly change, nor are
they different for some privileged demons. Poor process or no process
ultimately fails to harm the product.
There are many different processes in Hell. These include the various
torture, speedy disembowelment, and barbed-penis sodomy review
processes; the various dispute exacerbation processes; the Request for
Unholy Host process; various processes for policy formation and
alteration; and the Featured Sinner candidate process. There are
processes more specific to particular areas of Hell, such as that for
proposing imp types, and processes internal to various subareas of the
inferno. There are also more informal processes such as those that
happen in discussion on a particular sinner, when which hideous horror
or style of taunting is most appropriate for a given sinner can be
settled among the interested demons.
Most of these processes depend on demonic consensus in some form. Some
of them ultimately rely on votes, or something like votes, to
determine that consensus on a particular issue. But even during a
"vote" most of them not only permit but encourage discussion in
addition to simple "Yes" or "No" votes, in hopes that people of one
view can persuade those of another, or that a compromise can emerge,
and in either case a true consensus, not just a majority or
super-majority, can emerge.
And of course, Satan himself will from time to time just tell you
what's fucking what.
It is no accident that the basic mechanism for demeaning civil rights
is called "Due Process of Bureaucracy". Indeed, in most bureaucratic
systems the effective mechanisms for stifling rights and freedoms are
essentially procedural ones.
Of course, Hell is not a government, nor is its primary purpose to be
a social or communitarian experiment. But many of the same problems
arise whenever lots of entities interact, some of them with strongly
opposing views. The basically procedural methods that have been used
to solve these problems when running governments often must apply,
with suitable variations, in an inferno such as Hell—and this only
becomes more true as such an inferno becomes larger and more
influential.
Sometimes a process can be like unto a pitchfork in the buttocks. Some
processes demand that demons go through several steps to achieve a
result. Some can be cumbersome or time-consuming. Some do not deal
with particular situations as rapidly as a demon might wish. Sometimes
going through the process seems unlikely to give the result that a
demon desires. In all these cases, there is a temptation, sometimes a
strong temptation, to act unilaterally, to simply "fuck" the problem
as one sees it. Often this is technically possible in Hell. Sometimes
many demons will support it.
The problem with yielding to this temptation is that it affects the
overall structure of the functionality of Hell. It throws sand in the
gears of the inferno. When demons see others acting outside of
process, they may be convinced that they ought to do the same; or they
may be convinced that the dark whispering voices and views will get no
respect or consideration. If all demons act outside of process, there
is no process, no organization to our efforts. Then we do not have a
functional collaborative inferno; we have some hippie bullshit. Which
is no way to run an inferno.
The primary goal of Hell is the damnation of sinners, and any process
is only a means to that end. Even the community of Hellions, important
as it is to some, is only a means to that end.
Often following a process takes more time and effort in a particular
case than acting unilaterally. Sometimes following a process will give
a less distended sinner's anus in a particular case. But frequently
acting outside of process causes strong and widespread
dissatisfaction, which consumes far more time and effort than any
saved by avoiding the process in the first place.
Even in the more numerous cases where no great uproar results, actions
outside of process still tend to damage the trust of individual imps
and demons in the institution of Hell, and to damage the community.
And the community is the essential tool in the damnation of the
sinners. Without the community, there is no one to brutally sodomise
them, and there is no way to organize the brutal sodomy. Without the
community, there is no reason for anyone to undertake any of the many
needed but unglamorous tasks on which the damnation of the sinners
depends.
Process need not be inflexible—most Hell processes and policies can
be changed if the community, or the relevant section of it, wants to
change them. Many processes allow for exceptions or alternate routes
in particular cases or circumstances; such exceptions can be added to
processes that do not have them.
In a small group there is little need for structure or process. When
five people work on a sinner, little structure and no formal process
may be required. When five thousand work together on a substantial
group of sinners, there must be some structure or the inferno will
collapse. While Hell intentionally has relatively little structure, it
must have some to continue in a productive way. Processes, formal and
informal, are some of the key elements in that structure.
During the early days of Hell, few processes were needed to maintain
its essential structure. Many—at first most—demons knew each other
or rapidly came to know each other. Issues could be resolved by
informal discussion or casual fights to the death with tooth and claw,
with little need for any other process.
As Hell has grown, more process has developed. While many demons still
know or know of each other, there are many overlapping
sub-communities, and no one knows all or even most of the most
accomplished torturers. Demons have strong and differing views about
policy and damnation issues. Process, often formal process, is needed
to allow issues to be resolved in ways that all can accept as
reasonable, even when individuals strongly disagree with particular
results. Unilateral action tends to subvert that acceptance, and lead
to a "me-first" or a "my way or the highway" attitude to the inferno —
even or especially when demons sincerely believe that they are acting
for the enhancement of the inferno.
Action outside of process is particularly dangerous when it involves
powers restricted to the Unholy Host, or knowledge available only to
long-established demons. This tends to create at least the impression
of a caste system. No one wants to be on the bottom of a caste system,
and such perceptions reduce the motivation for demons to contribute.
For all these reasons, demons and particularly the Unholy Host ought
to adhere to and use existing processes, and resist the temptation to
act outside of process, other than in truly emergency situations. If a
process is not good, think enough of fellow Hellions to engage the
problem and propose a change to it; don't just ignore the process.
:This essay was sporked from Wikipedia:Process is important.