Yesterday a user posted to ANI requesting that excisions be made from the edit history of a biographical article in order that information troubling to the subject should be removed (the discussion, [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia%3AAdministrators%27_noti...] was removed from ANI by [[User:Bishonen]] at the request of the original poster, ostensibly because we'd discerned the article the poster was referencing and noted it on the board). Because I'd replied on ANI, the user e-mailed me with respect to the article, and because I'm not certain how we ought to apply [[WP:BLP]] in this case, I thought I'd ask here.

The article in question is [[George M. von Furstenberg]], the subject of which corresponds with the user who compiled much of his biography, [[User:Jpbrenna]]. Furstenberg is concerned because, in the edit history, the year of his birth (and only the year) is given (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_M._von_Furstenberg&dire...) as recently as 1 March; his concerns stem from fears about identity theft, for which reason, apparently, he also seeks the removal of the names of his wife and son (most recently in the article [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_M._von_Furstenberg&dire...] on 1 March). BLP suggests that, where a non-public personnage requests birthdate removal, we ought only to leave the year, and the year of birth is all the article ever contained. With respect to his wife and son, I'm disinclined to think the son to be notable, but his marriage to a Baronness von Willmurg likely is notable (he doesn't want her maiden name to be given), even as the languages she speaks likely don't need to be enumerated. My inclination, then, would be to remove nothing (especially in view of the considerable difficulties involved, as much of the information was added concomitantly to the date of birth and wife and son names). Finally, one issue of which I think we can easily dispose: the professor doesn't wish the fact of his having been born titled (as a baron) to be in the edit history, as he desires that he should not be associated with an aristocratic background, lest one should think him to have become successful only because of his family history. Notwithstanding that the birth name isn't cited (although I'm certain it could be), I'm disinclined to think we ought to remove it; the concern, though privacy-based, seems to be one about which we shouldn't care. I know, though, that my interpretation of BLP may be affected in part by my general disfavoring of it (as I've explained many times, we ought to edit, IMHO, absent legal concerns, wholly dispassionately and disinterestedly, not caring about the extra-Wiki consequences).

So, what parts, if any, of the edit history ought we to remove, and what ought we to ask [[User:Jpbrenna]] to pass along to the subject (should we simply encourage him to contact the Foundation's designated agent or even an admin directly, or should we do what we can to assuage his concerns)?

Thanks in advance for your help,

Joe Hiegel Jahiegel