[Foundation-l] Sigh, problems with non-Latin usernames again

Gerard Meijssen gerard.meijssen at gmail.com
Mon Jan 29 19:40:26 UTC 2007


Hoi,
When people are treated differently based on their language, it is most 
definitely wrongful discrimination. And it does not occur to me that the 
English language Wikipedia has a right to discriminate people because of 
their name not being English, what does occur to me is that this is a 
fine example of discrimination.

When it is fine for you to try your hand at humour, you apparently can 
not handle it when your witty repartees are used as if in earnest. But 
seriously, Wikipedia is pre-dominantly white, women have a problem with 
the attitude of some.
Thanks,
    GerardM

Matt R schreef:
> --- Gerard Meijssen <gerard.meijssen at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>   
>> And I disagree utterly with your pov. 
>>     
>
> Yes, you've told me that already. Has it really not occurred to you that the
> English language Wikipedia should treat the English language differently to
> other languages? And that when it does so, it's not wrongful discrimination?
>
>   
>> Do try and suggest to ban white people. 
>>     
>
> Why would I want to do that? Why are you encouraging the banning of people
> based on their skin colour?
>
>   
>> The organisation of Wikimania 2005 and 2006 would have been so 
>> much easier; every body could have been meetings in a pub on a Friday 
>> night. I would even suggest that there would not have been much of a 
>> Wikipedia without white people. 
>>     
>
> What are you going on about? Please attempt to be coherent.
>
>   
>> You have correctly indicated three areas 
>> where we could do better; language, race and gender.
>>     
>
> Again, you are indulging yourself in melodrama. Please stop, not least because
> you are trivialising genuine issues of wrongful discrimination. "A black veil
> darkens what used to be a more bright promise of a world"? I believe the phrase
> starts with "get" and ends with "a grip".
>
> -- Matt
>
>   
>> Matt R schreef:
>>     
>>> --- Gerard Meijssen <gerard.meijssen at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>   
>>>       
>>>> If "common sense" means that discrimination is permitted than I do 
>>>> agree. When discrimination is permitted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a 
>>>> black veil darkens what used to be a more bright promise of a world. 
>>>>     
>>>>         
>>> Sheesh, let's cut back on the melodrama a notch, eh? I'm not suggesting
>>>       
>> banning
>>     
>>> white people. I'm not demanding that female users must identify themselves
>>>       
>> by
>>     
>>> writing in a pink font. What I am saying is that editors who enter into
>>> non-trivial interactions on the English Wikipedia should be obliged to have
>>>       
>> a
>>     
>>> handle that can be grokked by speakers of the English language.
>>>
>>> -- Matt




More information about the foundation-l mailing list