[WikiEN-l] No more blocking people for who they *are*?

[Jimmy Wales]

charles matthews wrote:
> "Steve Bennett" wrote
>> Could we agree not to ever again block people for what they are?
> 
> Easy to say that in the context that Wikipedia is not under siege, and
> has its reputation pretty much intact.

And I think this gets to the crux of the matter.  I don't care who
anyone is, but I do care about actions and statements which may bring
Wikipedia into disrepute in any of a variety of ways.  We have always
been united in the community on two principles which are somewhat in
tension:

1. Wikipedia is not a free webhosting service, your userpage is not your
own infinite free-speech zone where you can pontificate about anything,
no matter how bad it makes Wikipedia look.

2.  Wikipedia is a diverse community with extensive tolerance for what
people put on their userpages.  We try to get people to change with
reason and kindness rather than hardcore measures, whenever we can.

Now, achieving balance between these two is a difficult matter.  But I
think that people who self-identify as pedophiles (with a userbox or
otherwise) could bring Wikipedia into serious disrepute, and I have a
real problem with that disruption.

>What about the guy who arrives in the middle of an election and
>annouces "I'm being funded to remove all your bias on candidates' >pages"?

And what about the guy who says "I am a Nazi Party member, and I am here
to make sure that the POV that Jews are evil is properly represented in
the encyclopedia"... or the guy who says "I am a pedophile, and I edit
articles related to pedophilia to make sure that the articles show how
healthy it is."





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