Because of a truly great idea
<https://am.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E1%88%8D%E1%8B%A9:Log/block&page=%E1%8A%A0%E1%89%A3%E1%88%8D%3ATeles>
the involved user's admin/bureaucrat access was revoked
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Log?type=rights&user=&page=Codex+Sinaiticus%40amwiki&wpdate=&tagfilter=&subtype=>
by Marco Aurelio.
Vito
Il giorno lun 7 gen 2019 alle ore 11:02 Amir Sarabadani <ladsgroup(a)gmail.com>
ha scritto:
Given the response on the talk page [1] I think
it's clear violation of
nondiscrimination policy [2]
[1] "promotion of homosexuality will not be tolerated here nor will it be
forced down our throats to suit anyone's international political agenda if
you expect Ethiopians to take part."
[2]
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Nondiscrimination
Best
On Wed, Jan 2, 2019, 23:09 Risker <risker.wp(a)gmail.com> wrote:
I note that we are talking about the block of
one single user on one
single project; this particular account has thousands of edits over
about a
dozen projects, but is "attached" to
hundreds of Wikimedia projects. The
majority of these "attached" accounts are likely because the editor
"visited" the various projects while logged in, activating the automatic
account creation algorithm. The account was created 8 years ago, and has
actively edited a wide variety of projects, including several
wikipedias,
Commons, Wikidata, and Meta. While English
Wikipedia is the account's
"home" wiki, about 55% of the account's global edits have been made on
Marathi Wikipedia. The Amharic Wikipedia account does not appear to have
edited, which suggests that it was automatically created when the editor
was "looking at" the project on 9 February 2018. The block for account
name was made on 22 October 2018. I note that accounts were created on
over a hundred projects over the course of a few days in February 2018.
The point being raised in this thread is that it appears this editor was
blocked on one of the 381 wikis on which they have an account, explicitly
because of the perception that their username calls attention to the
sexual
behaviour of the editor. What we do not know is
(a) whether that is in
fact
a legitimate username block reason on Amharic
Wikipedia, or (b) if it is
a
legitimate username block reason, *why* it would
be a username block
reason. We don't know why this block was applied so long after the
account
was created. We don't know the username
policy on Amharic Wikipedia, nor
do
we know how it is applied; for example, we
don't know if a username like
"StraightGuy101" would be blocked. We do know that there are only 4
administrators on Amharic Wikipedia, and that there are fewer than 50
active users working on the project, which may be part of the reason for
the delay between automatic account creation and the account block.
We also know that one of the challenges of single user login for all
Wikimedia projects has highlighted the fact that certain usernames that
are
acceptable on some projects are blocked on other
projects; we've known
that
for years. We know that each project establishes
its own policies when it
comes to usernames. There are legitimate reasons why a username that is
acceptable in one language is not acceptable in another language, even in
cases where the editor had no knowledge that the chosen username would
be a
problem in another language. We do know that
there have been lots of
cases
where usernames have been blocked for
"username policy violation" on all
kinds of projects, despite the account operating productively on other
projects.
I also note that there is nothing in this thread that confirms the editor
themself has raised any concerns about this block, and I am always wary
of
turning an editor into a "martyr for a
cause" without their direct
agreement, as that can be as abusive as the original action. So the first
step in this situation would be to confirm with the individual editor
whether or not they want their "case" to be examined.
Should the editor be agreeable, I suggest that the next step is for
someone
who has the ability to converse in Amharic to
contact the Amharic
Wikipedia
and find out why the block has been issued, how
it is consistent with the
username policy on Amharic Wikipedia, whether that policy is driven in
part
by external considerations (e.g., does the
project risk heavy
governmental
scrutiny if it appears to "promote"
locally unacceptable activities). I
am
personally curious as to why it took over six
months to identify that
this
account did not meet the local username policy,
and whether there was
internal or external discussion about the username.
It is not clear to me what the desired outcome is in this case - at least
in part because we have no idea of the opinion of the editor involved. I
am hard-pressed to say that a project should be required to allow
usernames
that it has a long history of considering
unacceptable, especially if it
is
applied evenly to all accounts; in this case, if
it disallows usernames
that imply sexual preference regardless of what that preference is.
It seems to me that the WMF Trust & Safety group would probably be the
right group to examine this.
Risker/Anne
On Wed, 2 Jan 2019 at 09:42, Ariel Glenn WMF <ariel(a)wikimedia.org>
wrote:
Additional notes:
The user's regular page can be viewed on en wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:QueerEcofeminist
Queer may have to do with gender identity as opposed to being an
indicator
of 'sexual behavior', so the blockers
didn't even get that right.
Example:
I am gender-nonconforming as to my gender
identity and expression; this
is
the primary reason I use the label
'queer'.
I believe this should be reported... somewhere. But I don't know where.
The
> WMF CoC only covers technical spaces. A little help here?
>
> Ariel
>
> On Wed, Jan 2, 2019 at 4:26 PM Fæ <faewik(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Do we have cross project policies to govern or limit local policies
> > for the use of sysop tools? I would like to pass on policy advice,
and
> > any past cases folks here would like to
highlight that set a
> > precedent.
> >
> > The case below is illustrative, though based on my recall of several
> > complaints which went nowhere over the years, on email lists, and
> > Jimmy's talk page, about apparently arbitrary blocks on different
> > non-English Wikipedias, it seems reasonable to believe those
> > complaints are the tip of the iceberg, and there are likely to be
many
> > historical cases of blocks that could
have been appealed... had the
> > user been confident to complain in English, and have the energy to
> > pursue generic WMF policies on terms of use, or
> > harassment/discrimination, to establish a meta-level case.
> >
> > # Example case
> >
> > An account block on the Amharic Wikipedia (am.wp) was flagged up
> > yesterday on the WM LGBT+ Telegram discussion group.[3] The rationale
> > for blocking the account was because the account name includes the
> > word "Queer"[1]. The incident raises questions about process and
> > accountability, particularly as the block gives the impression that
> > this is the norm or an agreed interpretation of policy for sysops on
> > am.wp, and because the user is well established using this account
> > name across Wikimedia projects and has never edited am.wp so the
block
> > cannot be based on any prior action or
dispute.
> >
> > In this example there is no obvious process for appeal, if sysops on
> > that project think that blocking any LGBT+ related account name
> > represents local consensus. After off-wiki discussion, the WMF Trust
> > and Safety team has been approached for advice,[2] as the rationale
> > for the action appears hostile to any openly LGBT+ volunteers who
> > might want to include something queer looking in their account name
> > (such as my account name, should anyone want to read it as
transgender
https://am.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%88%8D%E1%8B%A9:Contributions/QueerEcofemi…
> > ;
> > the block log states "Names calling attention to your sexual behavior
> > have never been allowed here in 15 years and aren't suddenly allowed
> > in 2018"
> > 2.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Trust_and_Safety
> > 3.
https://telegram.me/wmlgbt
> >
> > Thanks
> > Fae
> > --
> > faewik(a)gmail.com
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae
> >
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_LGBT+
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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