On Nov 25, 2014 2:48 PM, "Sarah Stierch" sarah.stierch@gmail.com wrote:
could there ever be any legal repercussion - like the "real" legal
system, not an internet community - that could be taken to support a person who should not be "banned" from a website? like carol? If you're called lots of nasty names, if men aren't being banned, etc but women are, blahblahblah - that's sexist and discrimination IMHO.
There's a few options, sticks and a carrot. But I don't think any of them are appropriate here.
I'm not even sure if solutions to the arbcom mess(es) should come from the foundation at all.
Stick: find a law that would be violated by such a ban. maybe in order to have standing, the banned user would herself have to be party to the suit. (i.e. couldn't be filed by an arbitrary bystander) I doubt such a law exists. Women are a protected class under some laws but I don't see how they would apply here.
WMF is AFAIK a relatively ordinary 501(c)(3). (legally speaking) It was not chartered by an act of a legislature nor is it a part of any government department or agency.
Or find a part of the bylaws, articles of incorporation or a policy of the foundation that this ban would violate.
I don't think this would work.
(Although, taking this a step further, if editors were employees rather than volunteers then I guess there would be substantial remedies available)
Stick version 2: convince the voting membership of the foundation to make some sort of change.
WMF is not a membership organization so that doesn't work.
Carrot: get a major funder of the foundation to reverse course or to ask the foundation to do something. or get the legislature or executive of a government sponsor to make funds conditional on X. (like the way US federal policies dictate state drinking ages though highway maintenance funding (or withholding thereof))
I don't think WMF gets any government funds now and could probably do well enough with just banners to survive without major donors. (at least given current trends; already most revenue is from small individual donations)
I have a lawyer on standby for every single threat that comes my way now
on the internet, and that includes Wikipedia - I'm not rich, but, frankly, I just can't do it alone anymore and the system isn't solving anything.
From Twitter to Wikipedia, a day doesnt' go by when myself or a woman I
know isn't threatened on the internet. I'm just so sick of it.
:(
I'm also really pissed off in general about the last 24 hours in america.
So whatever.
+1 :(
-Jeremy