[WikiEN-l] London calling, etc.

[Durova]

I've dealt with suicide notes on Wikipedia twice before and the precedent I
set was to notify the authorities as swiftly as possible and put a lengthy
block on the account.  I stand by Riana's decision to delete the user
space.  This type of thing is best handled with minimal fuss.

It isn't our call to determine which suicide threats are "legitimate" any
more than it's our call to determine which death threats are genuine.
Wikipedia's sysops manage a website with over 5 million registered accounts
and within any population that large, some individuals will be dangerous.
It's enough to know that some are and to understand we're not trained to
make the distinction.  It's also best in these situations to take firm and
rapid action quietly: when a large enough population becomes aware of this
the probability approaches one that somebody will do something really
foolish.

-Durova

> Yes, good work, just calling the police and ignoring your sniff test.
> Sometimes responsibility is the only call.


And it's easy enough to call saying "I realise it might be a hoax, but
I thought I should call just in case." The police are used to dealing
sensibly with questionable reports.


- d.