Hi all
I wonder if the column rc_ip can be safely removed from mediawiki. As far as I
know, it has been superceeded by the information in cu_changes, right? So I
propose to
a) either completely remove it
b) or set $wgPutIPinRC = false per default
c) and set $wgPutIPinRC = false for wikimedia projects.
The rationale is that IP addresses should only be recorded if this is explicitly
requested. In some jurisdiction (e.g. Germany) it is illegal to record this
information without notifying the users, and there is a requirement to only
record data at all if necessary. So it should be off per default. Many
privacy-concious hosters disable IP records in the server logs, recording the IP
in the database per default subverts this.
As to disabling on Wikimedia projects: this would make things easier for the
toolserver mainly. We don't need this info there, and having it might
conceivably make WMDE the target of legal action. We can easily exclude
cu_changes from replication, but we can't easily filter rc_ip from
recentchanges. So it would be better if it wasn't there in the first place.
Thoughts?
Daniel