On 15/03/07, luke brandt shojokid@gmail.com wrote on foundation-l:

Any views from the Foundation, or others, in light of the discussion and straw vote:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Jimbo_Wales/Credential_Verification#S... This needs to be resolved quickly (if public interest is to be taken into account) But only one proposal seems to be garnering significant support in the EN community - luke

I note particularly these comments from User:Armed Blowfish -

I believe that any credential or identity verification system will increase systemic bias against people from developing countries, people without documentation, and people too poor to get a good education, if any education at all. UNICEF estimates that one third of the world's population do not even have a birth certificates.(http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0098-7921%28199809%2924%3A3%3C659%3AUODBRI%...) (http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/media_35255.html) The economic inability to get a good education, as is common in developing countries, does not make someone less intelligent.

According to overpopulation.com (http://www.overpopulation.com/articles/2001/000050.html), "In 1950 there were two people in developing countries for every person living in the developed world. By 2050, there will be six people living in developing countries for every person in the more developed world." Look, I am not advocating affirmative action, I just don't want to make it impossible for any of these people to become administrators, checkusers, and all that, considering how sadly under-represented they already are.

I agree. It really doesn't fit in too well with our attempts to counter systemic bias to deliberately introduce a new one.

- d.