[Wikipedia-l] Where ends the responsibility of Wikipedia? (personal information of people)

[Walter Vermeir]

I have seen a request form a person who has a entry on the English
language Wikipedia to remove his date of birth because he fears identity
theft. He is a USA-citizens.

At first glance that seems to me a very strange reason to request to
remove that information. How can you steal someones identity??

>From the day of my bright until the day that I day that I die all my
movements are tracked in the national population register of Belgium. I
have a electronic identity card, a electronic national medical insurance
card. Most databaseses of the government functions are interconnected to
exchange information about the citizens. There is not much the
government does not know. (*) So how the hell can you steal some ones
identify?

But I understand that things are very, very different in the USA
regarding that. That there no way to verify someone identify. That you
can get a visa-card whit a drivers licence ID and a drivers licence with
the Visa-card as identification. And that this is also the reason that
Americans are not enthusiastic to give you there bank account number
because there is no good protection against abuse.

So when you look at it that way I would be scared also for identify
theft if I where living in the USA.

Would it not be reasonable to consider the local circumstances when
putting information in the articles?

Greetings,
Walter

-- 
Contact: walter AT wikizine DOT org
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