Thomas, I was replying to the *general feeling* by some that it is sometimes permissible to track down real-world identities, of those who for, whatever reason, are trying to hide theirs.
It was not directly to you. I'm not trying to set-up an adversarial counter-attack on your particular position, just point out that there is a larger issue at-stake here. Rather than give extra leeway to admins, I would be more inclined to give admins less leeway. Power, even small amounts, tends to make people feel they are immune from the standards that apply to the powerless. If we are going to stress that in-wiki and out-wiki activities shouldn't merge, than that standard needs to be applied to admin actions as well and perhaps even more-so. IMHO.
Will Johnson
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On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 4:01 PM, WJhonson@aol.com wrote:
Thomas, I was replying to the *general feeling* by some that it is sometimes permissible to track down real-world identities, of those who for, whatever reason, are trying to hide theirs.
I believe it IS sometimes permissible. For instance, if someone is vandalizing, making threats, etc. it is permissible to discover personal information about them for the purposes of preventing the problem. For instance, that's what checkusers do in cases of serious vandalism etc. We may, for instance, discover personal information through those checks, make connections between multiple accounts, announce issues if we feel it necessary, get in touch with ISPs in severe cases, etc.
-Matt