[WikiEN-l] Missed Opportunities to have avoided the Durova Case

[David Gerard]

On 27/11/2007, Bryan Derksen <bryan.derksen at shaw.ca> wrote:
> Guy Chapman aka JzG wrote:

> > It's not clear to me what mechanism other than a private discussion
> > could possibly satisfy the purpose of victims discussing harassment.
> > If this had carried on with cc lists instead of a mailing list there
> > would be no effective difference.

> I'm not saying private discussions should be forbidden. That would be
> silly and unenforceable. I do want it made very clear that one can't use
> private discussions as a foundation for actual live public on-Wikipedia
> sanctions. Unless it's something really extreme like an OFFICE action,
> the evidence needs to come out before action can be taken based on it.


This is well-established, e.g. an admin might use an IRC discussion
for advice or sanity-checking an action before making it, but the
action is entirely their own responsibility. They might later explain
it as having led from following the bad advice of others, but that
doesn't take away any of their own responsibility for their actions.

Editors talk to each other in groups all the time. They make friends
and stuff. They get the measure of each other as editors and project
participants. This is normal.

Of course, if someone posts an incendiary message to a mailing list
implying any such group they're not part of is a cabal that must be
rooted out, there's going to be quite a bit of heat before there's
light.

To such editors, may I just suggest: you'll catch more flies with
honey than gobbets of flaming napalm.


- d.