Durova wrote:
> Here's one possible way to implement this
that wouldn't relate to the
NPOV
> policy: don't remove links, simply deactivate
them. The same
information
> remains for anyone who wants to cut and paste the
URL into a browser
> manually.
This is a nice-sounding compromise, but it strikes me
as pretty silly.
It doesn't stop anyone who wants to visit the verboten page; it
merely annoys them, to no purpose. It cements the notion that
banning the link is punitive, not protective.
We do it for shock sites, and
antisocialmedia.net is odious enough to
deserve not being linked.
- d.
******
The purpose is that it reduces incoming traffic from one of the most
powerful sources of link traffic on the Internet. If that discourages
people from using their sites to intimidate particular editors, then so much
the better. NPOV *is* harmed when good editors decide "this isn't worth
it"
and leave the project. Wikipedia has a legitimate interest in ensuring that
all points of view are represented among its contributors.
-Durova