David Katz wrote:
Do users have the right to be told if a checkuser has been run by them and by whom? SlimVirgin seems to. Several years ago the fact that Kelly Martin ran a check on her was leaked and maximum drama ensued. This year, SV was informed that Lar ran a check on a friend of hers and again, drama.
Either all users should have the right to know if checks have been run on them or none should. SV should not have special access to information just because she has a friend who is a CheckUser and is willing to give her information from the CheckUser log.
I've said whenever the topic has come up, since I introduced CheckUser, that the reason the log is private is to avoid the appearance of incrimination when innocent users are cross-tested against abusive users, to disprove an allegation of sockpuppetry. Having CheckUser run against you does not imply any kind of wrongdoing.
If anyone wants such information released about them, they can contact me, and I will give it to them. But I won't give out any information about the other users who are cross-checked in the same investigation.
If SlimVirgin wants to imply that CheckUser is indeed a form of allegation, and act offended, then so be it. That's the price we pay for openness. You always have the option of ignoring her.
-- Tim Starling