[WikiEN-l] Opt Out for Not So Notable Biographies

[Daniel R. Tobias]

On 9 Apr 2007 at 11:32, Seth Finkelstein <sethf at sethf.com> wrote:

> 	My view is that I'm not going to go on a legal crusade over
> my own issues with Wikipedia - that for biographies of living people,
> it's an attractive nuisance and a weapon of asymmetrical warfare.
> But I sure do think it's a problem that needs fixing.

You and Brandt both like to call Wikipedia an "attractive nuisance", 
but that phrase has a precise legal meaning, as I recall from my high 
school senior elective in law and have refreshed my memory here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attractive_nuisance_doctrine

Something is an attractive nuisance, legally speaking, if it is 
attractive to children and presents an "unreasonable risk of death or 
serious bodily harm" to those who are attracted to it and are too 
young and inexperienced to realize the danger.

In the case of Wikipedia, the alleged potential harm is to third 
parties, not to those who are attracted to the site; the age of the 
editors isn't particularly relevant; and the possible harm is more 
likely to be emotional than physical.  It would take a pretty 
adventurous judge to stretch the doctrine that far.

-- 
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