DoPA
This article is a stub. You can help the IndieWeb wiki by expanding it.
DoPA is an abbreviation for Denial of Productivity Attack, a method often used by trolls and non-implementers (perhaps without explicit maliciousness but rather misfocus) to slow down or prevent progress by misdirecting creator selfdogfooders into responding to hypothetical problems, instead of their own real world itches.
Many DoPA attacks on indieweb efforts can be thwarted by responding with questions that redirect the attacker into answering questions about their own site, what is the next user visible thing they want on their site, and walking them through first wikifying it on their User: page, implementing it, deploying it and iterating.
Historic Precedent
The CIA codified DoPA tactics as part of their Simple Sabotage Field Manual:
- Insist on doing everything through "channels." Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.
- Make "speeches." Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your "points" by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences.
- When possible, refer all matters to committees, for "further study and consideration." Attempt to make the committee as large as possible — never less than five.
- Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible.
- Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions.
- Refer back to matters decided upon at the last meeting and attempt to re-open the question of the advisability of that decision.
- Advocate "caution." Be "reasonable" and urge your fellow-conferees to be "reasonable"and avoid haste which might result in embarrassments or difficulties later on.