[Foundation-l] Stalking Article

Tue Jun 10 14:43:14 UTC 2008

On Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 7:23 AM, Durova <nadezhda.durova at gmail.com> wrote:
>  Ray,
> We are talking about people who on or off list threaten others to kill, maim
> and rape. We are talking about people associated with aggressive pov pushing
> and using any means whatsoever to establish their pov. There have been
> several examples given of this behaviour by credible people. Suggesting as
> you do that there is no idea that we are talking about it not where we are
> at.
>
> When YOU do not know what is being discussed you either read up on it, do
> some research, talk to people involved or keep out of it. Suggesting that
> there is no clarity about such issues is exactly the kind of behaviour that
> makes this situation worse because it leads to more procrastination. What is
> needed is clarity to what extend the WMF is aware of this situation and what
> involvement it can have, research is needed about the extend this type of
> behaviour DOES affect our project and impacts the NPOV of controversial
> subjects. This research is needed because it will prevent people from
> ignoring or belittling this issue.
>
> Thanks,
> GerardM
>
> ----
> Superbly expressed.  Some respondents demonstrate a palpable lack of
> perspective regarding this serious issue.
>
> Months ago I initiated a proposal to eliminate the word "wikistalking"
> because of exactly the problem that has manifested in this thread: it takes
> a serious crime and trivializes it, fostering confusion on a subject where
> victims already have a very difficult time making themselves heard and
> believed.

I agree with this.  Sometimes a semantic shift can help.  We can call
the person who annoys people on-wiki a "tag-along troll" or whatever,
and should reserve "stalking" for, well, actual stalking (and maybe
always preface the term as "actual stalking" or "real-life stalking"
so the meaning is plain to Wikimedians not familiar with this issue).

If more Wikimedians understand what is actually meant by this issue,
hopefully that will be a step toward getting the issue addressed in a
serious way.

Thanks,
Pharos