[Foundation-l] Assume Good Faith and Don't Bite Newbees

[Delphine Ménard]

On Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 18:20, Nathan <nawrich at gmail.com> wrote:
> The idea of verified accounts raises all sorts of questions and
> potential problems. The Wikimedia Foundation might be able to verify
> that users requesting a "company account" are connected to that
> company, if the account is on the English Wikipedia. But can the
> Foundation be sure that the existence of a company account is
> authorized by that company? Can they do anything at all in other
> languages? Should the process of "verification" be left to OTRS, or
> some other group on each wiki? If verified status is granted
> erroneously, and it impacts the reputation of a particular company,
> who is responsible?

Well, obviously the "verified" account system should find a way to
answer those questions.

And I fail to see what kind of responsibility would end up on the
shoulders of an administrator for blocking an account on Wikipedia.
It's not like blocking a Wikipedia account actually endangered a
company in any kind of way.

>
> Among other reasons, the English Wikipedia bans role accounts
> (including corporate accounts) because we wish people to act on their
> own behalf, and not claim the support or backing of a corporation.
> With limited capacity to verify the basis for any claimed role, we end
> up treating all such claims as suspect anyway. This restriction may be
> inconvenient in some instances, but far more trouble is prevented by
> maintaining the simplicity of individual to individual interaction.

But as I understand it, accounts such as "Delphine-ACMEcola" are also
blocked on sight right? Which prevents even me from making edits on
behalf of a "company" and being really open about it.

Mind you, if I was there to really make a company shinier on Wikipedia
(see the recent coffee brand case recently talked about in the French
Wikipedia), I would probably avoid having a corporate account at all.
But for people and companies who act in good faith, I still think that
role accounts should be allowed and a verify-system be put in place.




Delphine
-- 
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