[WikiEN-l] Former Wikimedia employee was a felon.

[Jussi-Ville Heiskanen]

On 12/16/07, Anthony <wikimail at inbox.org> wrote:
> Well, first of all, I don't think we could have had Jimbo be the one
> to break the story to us, since he is apparently restricted by a
> confidentiality agreement and/or some other legal constraints not to
> talk about it.  Secondly, wouldn't it be better for Christiano to just
> tell us directly?  Spin doesn't help us, whether it's Jimbo's positive
> spin or the Register's negative spin.

20/20 hindsight, (or perhaps better as a suggestion for the future)
would it be better than complete silence to just simply warn people
openly on the list that there is generic knowledge that an unnamed
muckraking journalist (no need to mention that it is the Register, the
Sun or whatever or Orlowski or Metz or Finkelstein or whatever), is
making a more concerted than usual effort to scoop up something
unsavoury, and brace up for flying nappy contents, if they are lucky
enough their spade will toss it right on the fan belt.

That is to say, no specific information, but just a heads up something
is in the works. People seem to express the feeling that they would
have appreciated a forewarning.

Personally I am conflicted on whether that would have helped. Without
questioning the good faith of those who claim they would have liked a
warning beforehand, I have to question whether they would have had
the calmness to appreciate such a warning and restrain themselves
from near panicky demands to know everything and everybody involved
and preferably yesterday or before.

If you do decide in the light of experiences with this news story to begin
giving such warnings, please be sure to phrase it in a way which calls for
calm and making clear you don't know if anything will come of said
investigations, but for the community to just wait and see if it turns out
to be a false alarm or not.

--
Jussi-Ville Heiskanen, ~ [[User:Cimon Avaro]]