--- Dan Drake dd@dandrake.com wrote:
No. I'm using the legal system this week, if the lawyer who's handling my [civil matter, none of your business, not expected to be litigious] is ready for another conference. I admit this in the full expectation of not being banned from Wikipedia for handling my own affairs. Is your question deliberately misleading, or is it just looseness of expression?
Misleading? No. Probably it was looseness of expression.
New question: Is using the legal system to settle Wikipedia disputes and vendettas bannable behavior?
Answer: How can you ask? Of course it is. Take it from an Americocentrist in litigious America: you don't want to go there.
From below the thread starts becoming silly.
Don't continue reading if you don't have time to waste.
Bad-User-1 may post libel or personal information against Crazy-User-2 on Wikipedia pages. The nature of the libel and the information is such that in a lawsuit against Bad-User-1, Crazy-User-2 could win immediatelly.
Crazy-User-2 has two options: Either ask Wikipedians to remove the libel and personal info from public view and ban Bad-User-1 or fill a lawsuit. The first option is, of course, the best, but Crazy-User-2 is a bit crazy and is willing to spend money and time for fun. Crazy-User-2 also wishes to "test" their new lawyer. Crazy-User-2 chooses to fill a lawsuit.
Without involving Wikimedia Foundation, Crazy-User-2 finds Bad-User-1. Crazy-User-2 fills a lawsuit against Bad-User-1.
Wikimedia Foundation knows nothing about the lawsuit. Bad-User-1 didn't threatened in public Crazy-User-2 with a lawsuit. Nobody, except the lawyers and the two users, know anything.
Bad-User-1 sends an email to Wikimedia Foundation asking to ban Crazy-User-2 from Wikipedia because of the lawsuit: "Hi! Crazy-User-2 just filled a libel lawsuit against me! Crazy-User-2 is a bad person! Please ban Crazy-User-2! Thanks!"
The lawsuit does not involve Wikimedia Foundation or Wikipedia in any way. Nobody asked Wikimedia Foundation to give information about any user. Other Wikipedians would know nothing if the email was not sent.
Will Crazy-User-2 get banned?
Note that this is a different case than if the lawsuit involved Wikimedia Foundation (for example. asking the developers to disclose information such as IP addresses etc).
This is only a theoretical discussion, mostly to see our reasoning on some scenarios. And, hey, Don't take this discussion too seriously! :)
--Optim
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