[WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

[Bryan Derksen]

Fred Bauder wrote:
>>
>> I seem to have missed the detailed plans and blueprints on how to make
>> an A-Bomb.  Care to link me? Or do you really think that the press won't
>> sensationalise the minute it is realised someone learnt something bad
>> from Wikipedia? I'd rather send Mr Gerard out there if it ever does so,
>> because I think he has more chance of getting the message across that
>> this stuff will happen with or without Wikipedia in the world.
> 
> To tie this to the topic. We should not publish up-to-date and accurate
> information on how to create great harm whether it is about A-bombs or
> reporters held captive by the Taliban, and we don't, our A-bomb plans
> will produce a bomb that will barely go off, witness the North Korea
> fizzles.
> 
> That is because we generally do what it takes to avoid doing harm. And
> that is a good thing. It is simply wrong to do dumb harmful stuff.

I think it is far more likely that it's because we just don't _have_ the
detailed information that'd be needed to make an atomic bomb work. I'm
sure you don't really think that North Korea would go to Wikipedia for
that information, though. And anything that detailed would be more
suitable for WikiHow or WikiSource anyway.

Perhaps a more grounded-in-reality example of an article that has
information that causes "harm" is the [[AACS encryption key
controversy]], which contains a cryptographic key that the movie
industry claimed was a secret vital to their business that shouldn't be
revealed. It's not directly a life or limb thing but economic harm is
harm nonetheless.

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