[Wikimedia-l] OFFICE actions and WMF image tagging

[Marc A. Pelletier]

On 03/07/2012 3:23 PM, Theo10011 wrote:
> I would ask about a hypothetical, is someone's off-wiki opinion or 
> behavior or even criminal past, grounds for a block?

It may well be.  Both for our protection and that of other editors.  
There are cases of real, dangerous persons using Wikipedia to pursue 
criminal harrasment, that we cannot allow.  There are also cases of 
illness and threats of harm for which the best action is to exclude the 
person from participating.

> But what about privacy rights? doesn't someone has the expectation of 
> privacy? if so, then no action on wiki can be directly linked to 
> off-wiki opinion or behavior.

Which is exactly why those cases are not discussed in public, or debated 
by the community in the first place.  WP:CHILDPROTECT is a good example 
where we necessarily err on the side of caution yet make no public note 
of our actions exactly because of privacy concerns (especially since a 
mistake is always possible: erroneously "disapearing" someone innocent 
is unpleasant, but erroneously discussing whether someone is or is not a 
child abuser in a public venue can very well ruin someone's life!)

-- Coren / Marc