-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 The same standards outlined on the CheckUser Policy page apply to all checks - whether requested in public, requested in private, or done by a CheckUser without any request at all. If those standards are not being met (which is a fact one would have to investigate) then it is a problem with the standards not being met - not the request process or lack thereof. So, you should begin by showing that there is actually a problem here before you take it as fact. Granted, you may argue that forcing requests to be made public would force more stringent compliance with the standards, but you haven't even shown that there is an issue in the first place; you have merely assumed that it is so. Beginning an argument with a false premise is generally not going to leave you in a good position to win. If you were going to argue that public requests would curb abuse then you would first have to show that 1) there is abuse; and 2) that abuse arises from private requests or checks done with no request at all; and 3) that making all requests public would curb that abuse; and 4) that making all requests public would not have other adverse effects outweighing the benefits. The additional question of whether the CheckUser policy page should mention these facts is an interesting one. I rather suspect you are referring to the page on English Wikipedia, which I haven't read in well over 1.5 years, I would imagine. If you think their page is inadequate, feel free to fix it or post to the talk page such that others can help you fix it. For the page on Meta with which I am quite familiar: there is no assertion about any request process, and it would be inappropriate for it to do so. You haven't shown that there is a real issue with running checks that aren't requested in public. Therefore, your second issue simply arises from false premises. You are a long way from proving your point, but I would encourage you to make that request on the talk page of the CheckUser policy page on English Wikipedia so it can be pointed out that while there is a public request process, most requests are made in private, or done of a CheckUser's own volition. That is true, and it may be a worthwhile piece of information - though I can think of reasons the enwiki CUs may not want it included. If the public request process isn't necessary then they may be innundated with requests in private. The public process serves as a filter to keep away spurious requests. By not advertising it, private requests tend to be more reliable since it would be people "in the know" who would make those requests. But again: ask on the talk page. It is a wiki after all. - -Mike