<div dir="ltr">What you're describing sounds a lot like Citizendium, which is about as much of a failure as it's possible to get in the crowdsourcing world. Users who were told they couldn't contribute unless they turned over their real-life details mostly just opted to not sign up. The ones who did sign up found themselves mercilessly sorted by an imposed pseudo-meritocracy of real-life credentials, and what's left now is a a handful of "editors" who rule now-empty topic kingdoms.<div>
<br></div><div>As far as safety, knowing what I know about the number of violent threats and libelous statements that are directed at Wikipedians quite regularly (and to which, I think it could be argued, female editors can be disproportionately subjected), I don't think there's much ground to stand on when it comes to assuring people that somehow they'll be <i>more </i>safe when the people who hate them have access to their real names, phone numbers, and addresses. I mean, I see how you could come to the conclusion that anonymity gives the trolls another weapon to use against the non-trolls, but unless you first do something about the threats, etc, you're going to have a hell of a time convincing anyone it's in their best interest to give the people threatening them their name and home address. Keeping ourselves as safe as possible is not a "game" we play for fun; it's literally a survival strategy when you know there are people out there trying to physically harm Wikipedians.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Rather than forcing contributors to give up their personal details in exchange for being allowed to edit, why not focus on strengthening the harassment policies and the WMF's relationships with law enforcement, and maybe create relationships with some counselling services, such that anyone who makes another editor feels threatened or harassed is no longer welcome, and anyone who is threatened or harassed is completely supported? </div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, May 9, 2013 at 2:58 PM, Sylvia Ventura <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:sylvia.ventura@gmail.com" target="_blank">sylvia.ventura@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<p class="MsoNormal">I command Sarah, Sarah, Anne and few other women and men commenting on
this list for their tireless work trying to move the needle. I wish I had seen more movement/women coming
forward and stepping up – but I would not be surprised if many of us were…. uncomfortable. I know I
am. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">or simply burned out … which seems to be the case. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I had to think long and hard about writing this. Sarah, once again is trying to be constructive by creating momentum and a page <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap/Policy_revolution" target="_blank">https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap/Policy_revolution</a> to capture and focus conversations. I think it's a great initiative but I also think the problem we're dealing with is more systemic and might need a tougher conversation. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal">How can we 'speak openly' in a forum like "Policy Revolution" when a few of
us are playing a different game – most folks here use their real
identities, take their contribution work at heart, we know who we are. But then we have the Ghosts, those hiding behind the cloak of “Privacy” (perverse effect of a well-meant
policy I am sure) while trolling, harassing, messing with images/content with impunity. If we are serious about creating a broader more sustainable more representative participation to the projects the WMF folks (those with some level of mandate) need to seriously revise the community’s rules of engagement and stand behind it. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A have been sitting on this note (below) for a while, I
understand the need for privacy in the context of political/individual/speech freedom and to insure personal safety in some cases. This group is composed of some of the
smartest people on the planet, we surely can come up with some mechanism to protect
those who need protection (anonymity) while creating a healthy, open, constructive, environment. </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">== </span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:13.63636302947998px">NB: this was written shortly after Hersfold resignation, focuses on harassment but its relevant to all questionable behavior.==</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:13.63636302947998px"><br></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Accidental troll
policy</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">My ID was recently
deleted on Meta-Wiki, the reason given was: wait for it… Vandalism. Little than
I knew I had breached protocol – as a newbie I had created a page on
Meta and had clearly broken the rules. Or was it, since then, I learned
that your individual history (been banned/suspended, etc…) determines your
capacity of progressing in the ranks of WP – so this might have been purely
accidental or not. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">But back to
my point, after being notified of my ban, as a good citizen and a steward of open-culture
I felt it was my duty to get educated. I checked the Wikipedia’s user policy. What
I found was lengthy, detailed but overall clear. Except for a portion that was particularly unsettling.
The one about “Use of Real Name and Harassment”. [[excerpt: </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;background-repeat:initial initial">use of real name may make a contributor more
vulnerable to issues such as </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Harassment" title="Wikipedia:Harassment" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0b0080;background:white;text-decoration:none">harassment</span></a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;background-repeat:initial initial">, both on and off Wikipedia]]</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">After
reading the posting about the Resignation of </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;background-repeat:initial initial">arbitrator </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Hersfold" title="User:Hersfold" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0b0080;background:white;text-decoration:none">Hersfold</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> in yesterday’s Signpost I can’t let
go of the idea that the policy might actually enable the very problem it is
trying to avoid <harassment> by perpetuating the culture of obscurity and
by allowing trolls to hide behind anonymity. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">In an era
where information is a commodity, where online traceability is child’s play for
anyone with rudimentary tech skills I can’t imagine that concealing one’s real-life
identity on Wikipedia will minimize the incidence of harassment. </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">The
reasons for </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Hersfold" title="User:Hersfold" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#0b0080;background:white;text-decoration:none">Hersfold</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">
resignation again</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> shed
a gloomy light on this. Granted, arbitration is a “hot seat” to hold but unless
we are willing to put in place a “witness protection program” style for
wikipedians involved in conflict resolution, it will be impossible to prevent
this from happening again.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">So the
question I’m thorn with is who’s really benefiting from the “Privacy - no
Real name Policy”? The folks trying to do their job sensibly and seeking some
distance between their work on Wikipedia and their personal lives/families/jobs
or the trolls that haven’t yet found that clear boundary and are, by design, allowed
to create a toxic and unwelcoming environment. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Looking at
it from the other end. What if the system promoted total transparency? Where</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">
</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">everyone in it is
really who they say they are. A system where real-life ID is tied to the online
work, no place to hide, where the very act of signing up and becoming a
wikipedian is a pledge for civility, respect and trust. Where personal status
is a currency based on both hard and soft skills, (number/quality of
contributions and the manner in which we interact with each other). Maybe you get
to play anonymously for a while but if you want to get serious and become a ‘ranked’
wikipedian tell us who you are.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt">I honestly
don’t know how much implementation of a formal vetting system would violate the
foundation’s DNA – and it might - but knowing what mechanisms/policies
facilitate harassment will help us find solutions to prevent it from
perpetuating. In this case ‘anonymity’ could
be a weak link. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">How about associating a Wikipedia
ID to a mobile phone number at sign up, send the access code and instructions to
new users before they get started – </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">à la </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">craigslist. If this is not acceptable
let’s find another way to tie in real-life ID with Wikipedia’s ID and keep the
community healthy, truly open and safe. Who do we risk losing by getting to
know who we are? The trolls – yes. because
there will be no place to hide and play big bad wolf. Who do we attract? Potentially
everyone that has once considered contributing to Wikipedia but found it to be unsafe
and off-putting. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial">Some might
argue: “look, this is not a social club, this is how we’ve always done it, grow
a skin or move along”. I’d say: totally agree, institutional
knowledge is important, let’s keep the good </span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:13.63636302947998px">- and there is plenty - </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> and shed the bad. Wikipedia
has evolved greatly in the past 10 years and so has the world, and general expectations for social interactions have changed. We are steadily
losing some and still missing many voices on Wikipedia. Clearly harassment is not
the chief cause, but since *people* are the most important part (asset) of Wikipedia,
we need to start developing a much-needed social protocol and insure the free flow
of knowledge over ethos. </span></p><span><font color="#888888">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sylvia</p>
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