[WikiEN-l] The Register decries Wikipedia's "censorship" via OTRS

[Jimmy Wales]

On Jul 9, 2007, at 4:42 PM, Silas Snider wrote:
> Excellently said Geoff! I have always been amazed that OTRS volunteers
> believe that email is a valid way to serve legal notices.

That's an extremely unfair remark which entirely misses the point.

OTRS volunteers do not believe that email is a valid way to serve  
legal notices.

In the Lava Lamp case, it was obvious what was going on... the  
complaint was posted to the talk page LONG before an OTRS volunteer  
took action.  Anyone could see what was going on.  "Bogus trademark  
complaint".

What should one do if one sees that an OTRS volunteer has blanked a  
page in such a case.  Ok, here's what I would say makes sense:

1. Look at the talk page.  Gee, look, there is a trademark  
complaint.  Sounds bogus.

2. Email the OTRS volunteer to ask.  Ask Jimbo.

3. Respect that the OTRS volunteer is not "capitulating" or  
"censoring" but rather dealing with a thorny customer service issue.   
Discussions are underway to get more information.  Things will work  
out soon enough.

Are there exceptions to this?  Sure, there always are.


--Jimbo