[WikiEN-l] Checkuser for fun, for profit, for mild curiosity, for sharing, for whatever

[David Gerard]

On 13/08/07, Anthony <wikimail at inbox.org> wrote:
> On 8/13/07, David Gerard <dgerard at gmail.com> wrote:

> > So I'm asking what those expectations are, with as much detail as
> > possible. Then we can work on something which doesn't piss people off.

> One thing I expect is to know when checkuser is run against me.  I
> expect to know about this before it happens, and I expect a chance to
> argue against it happening.


You don't get that, any more than you get to object to a sysadmin
looking through the logs of a server they are charged with
administering. Checkuser is essentially a sysadmin function. (But
then, you know this, having read the manual.)

What do you gain from knowing, if the information is not revealed?


> But, even if this were fixed I still doubt I'd feel comfortable with
> the system.  I think I'd have to vote for abandoning the tool
> completely.  It shouldn't matter whether or not a user is a sockpuppet
> of another user.  Either their argument has merit or it doesn't.
> Either they're breaking policy or they aren't.  If you really need to
> stop sockpuppetry, then what you need is for the user to verify
> his/her identity, not to check IP addresses.


Assume that the tool will continue to be used as it is unless you can
*convince* lots of people otherwise. It's not a matter of a vote, it's
a matter of persuasion. Can you make a fair shot at that?


- d.