[WikiEN-l] Attack Site Wars, Episode VII... The Return of the Essjay

[The Mangoe]

On 6/27/07, White Cat <wikipedia.kawaii.neko at gmail.com> wrote:
> Morality is not a rationale of mine. The point is Essjay is not a notable
> individual to the point that consensus established that there shouldn't be
> an article on him.

And there isn't. But there IS an article on the incident, and his real
identity is not only germane, but indeed crucial to the matter. I
suppose you could take out the phrase "R*** J*****", and anyone with
enough fingers to type "Essjay" into Google would get past that
omission.

> Also it is a beefed up slanderous article on an individual. Since Essjay
> isn't a public figure this (the article) borderlines harassment of an
> individual. I am not exactly certain of the legal ground on this but
> Floridan law may have issues with this which puts the foundation at a legal
> risk. This aspect should also be investigated.

Nonsense. I haven't checked every last detail of the article, mind
you; but the basic outline of the story-- the misrepresentation, the
interview, the Wikia account, the questions, the revelation, the
departure, the note on the interview-- these are simple, uncontested
truth. And it was all conducted in public, so there isn't the
slightest possibility of a privacy angle on it.

When you call it "harassment", you ARE dealing in morality. You are
saying that we, as an institution, have to express forgiveness for
this person by erasing the record of his wrongdoing (or what many,
maybe a majority, would view as wrongdoing). I just don't see the
obligation. He did something conspicuously unethical, carelessly sowed
the seeds of getting caught, and got caught. All the media that have
paid any attention to Wikipedia took notice, because what he did cast
doubt upon the whole proceeding. I don't see that we have to protect
him from the consequences of his actions, but I also don't think we
CAN protect him. The truth is out there, and it isn't going to be
hidden just because we erase an article.