On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 13:12:03 -0500, AndyL andyl2004@sympatico.ca wrote:
Unless the sysop lives in a state with a Nazi government,
it
is clear to me that there is no such exposure.
By this argument comments such as "when we take power we will put you up against a wall and shoot you" should be perfectly acceptable in Wikipedia talk exchanges. After all, until and unless the person making the statement is in power the statement shouldn't be regarded as a threat.
Andy
It seems to me that there are two separate but related issues at hand: 1. Banning uses who make threats; and 2. Banning users due to their professed beliefs or associations.
For me, the first is beyond question. We even ban users for making legal threats. If someone makes a threat to health, life, family, safety, or even to privacy, that user should be dealt with swiftly and emphatically. Such behavior has no place on Wikipedia.
However, the second is also beyond question -- in the negative. There is no way to reconcile such banning of contributors by POV with Wikipedia's mission and culture. How would we be able to claim NPOV when certain groups are not allowed to participate?.
Do we have confidence in the Wikipedia way, or do we not?
-Rich Holton