[WikiEN-l] [Foundation-l] Lobby takeover of wikimedia projects, particularly English wikipedia

[Fred Bauder]

> White Cat wrote:
>> Although it is a well known issue, this issue has finally made its way
>> to
>> spotlight with the ongoing CAMERA incident on English wikipedia... I am
>> sure
>> English wikipedia's arbcom will come up with a reasonable conclusion
>> and the
>> purpose of this email is not related to the CAMERA arbcom case
>> directly.
>
> Which is good because it is likely most editors on Foundation mailing
> have no idea what the CAMERA incident is...
>
>> Due to the very nature of wikis they are very open to outside
>> interference
>> and manipulation. Although there had been many discussions on the
>> matter,
>> they never generated the intended level of brainstorming.
>>
>> I am sure someone can provide a brief history of past external
>> manipulations
>> so I will avoid listing them on this email.
>>
>> You may be under the false impression that large wikis such as
>> en.wikipedia
>> is invulnerable to such attacks, but this would be a fatal mistake.
>> English
>> wikipedia is probably the most vulnerable language edition of
>> wikipedia. If
>> a lobby group were to secure some 10 admin accounts they can
>> effectively
>> overwhelm any process we have on English Wikipedia.
>>
>> So lets discuss possible solutions and precautions.
>>
>> I recommend that foundation pass a ruling on the matter of lobby
>> takeovers.
>
> Which type of ruling are you thinking of ?
>
> Ant
>
>> Although it goes without saying along with NPOV, spelling it out has
>> benefits and no harm. This way we can more easily and promptly purge
>> them on
>> wikis that did not have a serious conversation on this matter enough to
>> come
>> up with a policy.

We probably cannot completely prevent organized lobbies having some
influence. Effective efforts would require a degree of discipline which
would be far too rigorous for a volunteer organization. So we will have
to accept some interference by supporters of Zionism, supporters of the
Chinese government, and, indeed, any organized nationalist or social
movement.

We can mitigate it somewhat by continuing to be conscious of point of
view, but POV editors can be quite skilled at manipulating NPOV and
making it seem that they are on the short end of the stick, when, in
fact, they dominate.

Fred