On 8/13/07, NavouWiki navouwiki@gmail.com wrote:
Consider this scenario:
An editor creates a sockpuppet account to have discussion on a hot topic. The editor does not want this discussion associated with the main account. Checkusers are run, and the two accounts are reconciled.
Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not implying this occurs, it is a plausible scenario.
That's a valid reason to want to create a second account, and a scenario under which it might accidentally be exposed.
However, the policy is that CU data should not be used or released unless there's some sort of abuse by the account.
If an editor creates a sock for a particular discussion, and doesn't behave abusively during that discussion, even a positive ID between the editor and the sock by an unrelated CU should result in data which the CU user shouldn't use anywhere.
I think everyone would agree that outing a non-abusive sock account which was accidentally discovered in a CU, or on purpose discovered outside CU usage policy, would be a policy violation and result in review of CU privileges.
If you create the sock to abuse... you deserve to get discovered, and the policy allows people to do that.
I just live my life in a way that "discovery" of what I do online wouldn't be a shock to anyone I care about. I've socked in non-WP things before (in the early 1990s, popping up on IRC with a female nick was a great way to get hackers to tell you what they were doing...). I don't see any reason to for WP. There's nothing wrong with people having opinions on controversial topics. I don't agree that pseudonyms either facilitate the discussion or are in the long term useful for people discussing them.
I dont' impose my opinions on others, and I'm ok with WP having the additional protections, but a lot of the time I think people feel that they must hide behind privacy barriers that are really only useful or helpful in your mind. Ultimately, you will be better off not trying to hide. Ultimately, the project will be better off if hiding becomes the exception rather than the rule.
I'd rather people came to see that on their own and just modified their own behavior by choice than try to impose that on anyone, but I think ultimately that's a long term direction of benefit to both the Foundation and most of the individuals participating in the projects.