[Foundation-l] and what if...

[David Gerard]

2008/12/13 Thomas Dalton <thomas.dalton at gmail.com>:

>> Jimbo didn't say anyone who denies the Holocaust should be blocked, as
>> though Wikipedia should engage in thought-crime.  He said "the sorts of
>> people who deny the Holocaust are generally the sorts of people who ought to
>> be blocked on sight from editing Wikipedia".  High correlation, not
>> causation.

> I agree - there is a high correlation. Anyone that believes the
> Holocaust didn't happen probably doesn't support the use of reliable
> sources, which makes them incompatible with our goals. Thus, they
> should be blocked. I wouldn't support blocking them on sight, though -
> they should be given a chance to screw up first.


And his statement is indeed correct on the historical evidence. It
would be novel indeed to have a Holocaust denier who wasn't a crank as
an editor, but I don't expect it to happen any time soon.


- d.