[WikiEN-l] Proposal: Harassment victim support fund

[William Pietri]

Let me throw out an idea that might address the base problem, 
harassment, in a way that would perhaps obviate the need for censorship. 
I don't know if this is a great idea or not, but perhaps you folks can 
find and/or patch the flaws.

I propose that we create a fund to support editors who are being 
harassed solely or mainly because of legitimate on-Wikipedia work. We 
fund this through contributions from the community. No WMF money would 
be involved, but perhaps they would consent to hold and/or supervise the 
fund.

What do I mean by support? Well, that would be up to the community, but 
I imagine it would include:

    * Legal or investigative support to someone pursuing criminal
      charges against a harasser.
    * Legal or investigative support to someone pursuing a civil suit
      against a harasser, especially when seeking a protective order.
    * Public relations assistance for the target of a high-profile
      harassment campaign.
    * Compensation for cash costs of dealing with harassment, like
      changing phone numbers or moving.
    * Legal support to someone frivolously sued for legitimate and
      beneficial on-Wikipedia activity.


Why would we do this?

    * To signal to community members that they will be supported when
      attacked by kooks.
    * To provide a deterrent for people who might harass productive,
      good-faith Wikipedia editors.
    * If necessary, to make an example of a harasser as a warning to
      future potential attackers.
    * To stand behind editors who might otherwise hesitate when wading
      in to clean up a mess.


Would this work? Could it be done in a way that would be unlikely to go 
too far wrong? And would this help satisfy the people who are currently 
pushing for various forms of censorship as a solution to harassment?


Humbly submitted,

William

P.S. If this happens, I'm in for the first $100.

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