1. We exist in the real world, where about 15% of WP traffic comes from search engines. We cannot operate in ignorance of how they operate. The NOINDEX mechanism was devised specifically to permit control of the interface: we decide what they are permitted to crawl, and they respect it. There is no reason to refrain from using it. There are more intrusive ways they control our behavior. They emphasize the words in the titles, & perhaps especially the beginnings of the titles, and we let this affect how we title the BLPs. Tellingthem what to index is not their affecting our beahvior, but us affecting theirs'.
2. Much better letting people control the external indexing, than control the content. I have always strongly objected to letting subjects have a say on whether or not there should be an article, but in comparison, this is harmless.
A more substantial problem is that BLP appears elsewhere than in biographical articles, and biographical articles cover persons other than the primary subject.
David Goodman, Ph.D, M.L.S. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:DGG
On Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 5:40 PM, geni geniice@gmail.com wrote:
2009/6/4 Durova nadezhda.durova@gmail.com:
Hi all, in two years of looking for solutions to the BLP issues have finally stumbled upon an idea that hasn't been raised before. Basically it's this: *Suppose we noindexed biographies of living persons, upon the subject's request.* This would require developer assistance, and require a bit of structure to make sure the ability doesn't get misused. An initial draft proposal is at my blog. Am interested in thoughts and suggestions.
http://durova.blogspot.com/2009/06/biographies-of-living-persons-ingenius.ht...
Best regards, Durova
Been suggested before. Answer is either:
No what search engines do with wikipedia content is none of our business.
No the subjects of articles have no right to determine wikipedia behavior
Of course it could also be argued that effectively making a public record of people who are sensitive about their bios it's exactly an improvement on the current situation.
-- geni
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