[Wikimedia-l] WMF employee writing articles for $300

[Andreas Kolbe]

Sure, Todd. But that is not actually in the Wikimedia terms of use. The
terms of use say,


   - Attempting to impersonate another user or individual, misrepresenting
   your affiliation with any individual or entity, or using the username of
   another user with the intent to deceive;


They do not say,


   - Attempting to impersonate another user or individual, misrepresenting
   your affiliation with any individual or entity, or *using more than
   username* with the intent to deceive;


That whole section is about impersonating other people, making out that you
represent someone you do not represent, etc. Silence as to one's
affiliations and identity has always been permitted on Wikimedia projects.

Andreas


On Mon, Jan 6, 2014 at 1:43 PM, Todd Allen <toddmallen at gmail.com> wrote:

> They are, however, avoiding scrutiny, as evidenced by widespread
> disapproval of their actions. That is not a permissible use of socks. The
> community expects to place more scrutiny on paid editors, not less.
> On Jan 6, 2014 6:23 AM, "Andreas Kolbe" <jayen466 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > That doesn't follow to me from that wording, Nathan. The English
> Wikipedia
> > for example allows socking to enable contributors to contribute to
> articles
> > that they would rather not have their real-life name or normal Internet
> > persona associated with.
> >
> > User:John Smith is allowed to create an account named
> > User:ColourfulCharacter to edit those articles. In doing so, he is not
> > using "the username *of another user* with the intent to deceive".
> >
> > There is no other user of that name. (The only exception would be if
> there
> > were a user called User:ColorfulCharacter, say, and Smith's intent was to
> > create confusion between the two accounts.)
> >
> > User:John Smith is using a secondary screen name to obscure the fact that
> > both accounts are operated by the same person. And that is allowed.
> >
> > I don't even see that Wiki-PR infringed the letter of that section, as a
> > normal person would read it. Just like John Smith, they did not use the
> > name of some other user. They created multiple accounts. There was no
> other
> > user whose username they used, or whom they tried to impersonate.
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Jan 6, 2014 at 1:07 PM, Nathan <nawrich at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > On Mon, Jan 6, 2014 at 8:01 AM, Andreas Kolbe <jayen466 at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Nathan,
> > > >
> > > > I am unable to find a mention of sockpuppetry in the Terms of Use,
> > > whether
> > > > in Section 4 or elsewhere.
> > > >
> > > > http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Terms_of_Use
> > > >
> > > > I don't think there could be such a mention, really, given that
> project
> > > > policies recognise a number of legitimate uses of socks.
> > > >
> > > > A.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > The term isn't used, but the behavior is clearly encompassed by the
> > > prohibition described in the "Engaging in False Statements,
> Impersonation
> > > or Fraud" - specifically "using the username of another user with the
> > > intent to deceive."
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