Usability Yes. Social Features, Uh-Oh.

Random, I completely agree that the situation you outline were groups supported could come about and would be deeply undesirable.

I'm not sure if this will work, but I'll throw an idea out: so, going on the assumption that groups were linked to categories, I outlined a potential issue giving the example of our categories "pro-life" and "pro-choice" as relates to abortion (obviously there will be many such oppositional categories on WP).

Both of those categories are under the broader category of "abortion". So perhaps if people were unable to join either of the subcategories but could only join the broader one it would effectively mean that both sides are on the same ship and would be interacting with (and opposed to) each other. The fact that both warring tribes are in the same place means that they may tend to police each other.

Anyone see any merit in this idea? Could that work?

KrebMarkt, I actually wouldn't have so grave a perception that social features has been a top down imposition. I've been putting in a lot of the work related to it on this wiki and I'm just a regular volunteer (I'm not even an admin on en:wp which is pretty much the only project I contributed to before this Strategy wiki began).

I honestly can't remember how I first came to think about social features. It may have been something I got from the collection of interviews (some of which were with the WMF board). It may, though, have been something I picked out as an emerging trend in the hundreds of proposals that were submitted (at the beginning of the process I spent hours and hours trying to review as many of them as I could).

Either way, what inspired me to create the page social features and then draft the recommendation was emphatically not that I felt "it's what the board wants" or "it's going to happen, so somebody may as well write it up". It came from a genuine interest at the possibilities and from my sense that such an innovation would be a pleasure to use AND genuinely improve community numbers and contributions.

So, although the WMF are very keen on social features, much of the work done on this Strat wiki to that end was taken up by me; an average and unremarkable volunteer. Obviously the fact that I was able to draft the recommendation headed by quotes from those higher up or more well-known was gratifying because it gave me a rather powerful way to start the recommendation but it was coincidental; I made my draft out of a personal passion for the concept, not because I felt pressured or obliged in any way.