[Wikimedia-l] New access to non-public information policy, re-ID requirements and data retention

[Marc A. Pelletier]

On 10/21/2013 08:13 PM, MZMcBride wrote:
> On a typical site, paid staff would deal with problematic users.

The obvious, and perhaps a bit trite, answer would be that we are most
certainly not a typical site by any meaning of the term.  :-)

Seriously, however, I can understand why some current holders of rights
might have reservations about a policy that tightens greatly how private
information is handled and how much vetting is done on who does the
handling; but that tightening does very much need to take place.

It's not clear to me what those people who have signed the petition
think they can accomplish; those new rules (perhaps altered through
feedback) will need to be installed eventually, but nobody is obliged to
abide them if they do not feel comfortable doing so; being a steward,
oversighter or checkuser is not something one is forced into doing.  If
they prefer not to proceed with the new system, they don't actually need
to resign.

As a volunteer, I'd *much* rather those functions be held by active
members of the community than by staff; and as long as there remains
sufficient volunteers to do the job, then this is what should happen.
(We'd probably get more people willing to step forward if we stopped -
collectively - heaping so much crap on the heads of functionaries; but
that's a different issue).

-- Coren / Marc