[WikiEN-l] FredBauder"clarifies"onattackkkkk site link policy

[Steve Summit]

jayjg wrote:
> On 7/2/07, James Farrar <james.farrar at gmail.com> wrote:
>> If I'm being silly, it's only because such a blanket ban is silly.
>
> Define "blanket ban".

Several of the people involved in the debate over WP:NPA --
specifically its "attack sites" section -- appear to be in favor
of banning all links from Wikipedia to those "attack sites".
They make no distinction between links from article space versus
project or talk space, nor between links which are intended to
serve as attacks and links which are merely involved in commentary,
or for reference.  They insist on the retention of wording which
has this interpretation; they continue to cite Arbcom's "MONGO
decision" as if they wish to enshrine and more broadly apply that
principle.  They resist the introduction of more moderate wording
such as "links to abusive external material which are placed with
intent to offend or abuse are disallowed."

If the "attack sites" portion of WP:NPA merely banned links
which serve as attacks (an interpretation utterly consistent
with the rest of NPA), if it did not try to resurrect BADSITES
by punitively banning all links to an unnamed (and unnamable) list
of shunned sites, I don't think anyone would have a problem with it.