I don't think this is necessarily so. Even if policies can't be enforced, making some guidelines and some reason for the guidelines clear to any visitor will undoubtedly influence their writing style. And, more importantly, people will probably model their contributions to a fair extent after what is already here. So in this formative period we have a good opportunity to set the course, even though the ship may turn later. -- JoshuaGrosse
Good question. But I'd agree with Joshua. Though I think you're right in many cases, Tim--experience is the best guide. Surely the case of NuPedia shows that the best policy is discovered through a combination of "a priori" policy-setting in the beginning, to be modified later in light of experience. -- LarrySanger