[WikiEN-l] Harassment sites

[William Pietri]

Will Beback wrote:
> My proposal is considerably different from "WP:BADSITES". I'm not sure 
> why folks continue to use that term to describe every single proposal 
> advanced to resolve this problem, but it may not be the most helpful 
> plain of engagement. I dub this proposal "WP:COISITES" because it covers 
> self-published websites that have a conflict of interest with Wikipedia 
> due to their attempts to coerce WP editors.
>   

I think the major similarity to me is reducing the utility of our site 
to punish people we designate as bad.

> Here is a formulation:
> "WP:COISITES: Self-published sources, such as blogs, forums, and open 
> wikis, that are actively engaged in lawsuits or harassment of Wikipedia 
> or its editors are not reliable sources [unless proven otherwise] and 
> should not be used as a source or external link in articles."
>
> [...] What's missing or in error from that proposal?
>   

For me the error is in the mismatch between the stated purpose and the 
effects. We already know how to evaluate sources and not link to bad 
ones. I don't see this as adding anything to WP:RS or WP:COI.

No matter how much Michael Moore doesn't like us, it doesn't alter the 
utility of his site for our readers. And it doesn't suddenly convert 
reliable information into unreliable information, just as people being 
extra-nice to us doesn't make their information more reliable.

If your goal is to take punitive measures against people who attack 
Wikipedia editors -- which seems to be the effect of this proposal -- I 
think you should just propose it as such.


William


-- 
William Pietri <william at scissor.com>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:William_Pietri