[WikiEN-l] Wikipedia privacy concerns

[Blu Aardvark]

> There have been people who had visits from the police or got passed on
> promotions, fired or failed to get a job in the first place because of
> harrasment. I don't call that overrated. It has real world repercussions,
> but the harrassers hardly ever get caught.
>   
I would have to wonder, what would have prompted the police to visit 
these editors? If we're talking about Phil Sandifer's graphic web 
posting, I personally think that *some* degree of concern was 
appropriate (and none of that was related to Wikipedia in the first 
place, rather, an off-site blog and a concerned person who read the 
blog). If we're talking about something else, then I'm not at all aware 
of the situation.

If a person is having difficulty with their employer due to their 
involvement in Wikipedia, one would have to wonder what prompted their 
employer to be concerned about their involvement? Was the editor 
contributing while on the clock, was there some form of 
conflict-of-interest, or did the editor actively post libelous 
statements themselves?

I'll admit I haven't heard of any cases where a person was turned down 
for a job because of being identified as a Wikipedia editor, and if I 
understood more about this, I might be inclined to agree.
> About that last line: Would blatantly censoring harrasment be a bad thing?
> We are already censoring illegal activities. It may be hard to prove, but
> harrasment/libel is just as illegal especially if it has effects on the
> harrased person.
>
> Mgm
Harassment is illegal. In most areas, at least so far as I am aware, and 
here in the states, libel is simply a tort. That doesn't make it right, 
but it's not necessarily *criminal*. I do approve of not linking to such 
cases of harassment and libel, and even removing such links in cases 
were they are not helpful to discussion or relevant to an article. I 
don't approve of blanket bans on sites that have published information 
that could be deemed to be harassing or libelous, *especially* if that 
site has become notable.