[WikiEN-l] Wikiquette "committee" (Alex)

Sat Oct 4 17:37:14 UTC 2003

Jimmy Wales wrote:

>Stevertigo wrote:
>
>>I for one would not like to see him (you Jim) as an individual to be
>>the target of a libel lawsuit for sanctioning a ban on someone,
>>under the premise of 'defamation of character'
>>
>Despite our openness, this is a private club entry to which is subject
>to my personal whims.  There is nothing about a ban in and of itself
>which should be interpreted by anyone as a statement about anyone's
>character.
>
Sometimes the fear of lawsuits is completely out of proportion to the 
circumstances.  There is nothing defamatory about saying that you can't 
get along with somebody.  With many of these people the archives would 
also show the defamatory claims that they had made against other 
Wikipedians.  Seeking equity in the courts often depends on entering 
with clean hands.  That sword too has two edges.

It's lamentable that many people avoid doing things because of their 
often erroneous perception of the law.  Perhaps guided by a paranoia 
about even having to appear in court they quickly interpret the law to 
their own disadvantage.  I also believe that for a large part of the 
population the term "law" is equivalent to what the more sophisticated 
would call "criminal law".  It focuses on punishment and the fear of 
punishment.

>>Maybe you guys can talk about formeruser Isis as a case precedent,
>>if youre not doing so already, and explain to us some of your
>>thinking on the matter when you're ready.
>>
>Isis was not banned, Isis chose to leave after coming to what she saw
>as irreconcilable differences with another user.  Isis did threaten to
>sue that user, but nothing came of it.
>
Isis was probably more aware of legal issues than most Wikipedians.  All 
she had to do was sleep on it before realizing that such a suit would be 
a dumb idea.

Ec