[WikiEN-l] Please remove user data and talk pages from database dumps!

Thu Dec 29 18:07:05 UTC 2005

On 12/24/05, Philip Sandifer <snowspinner at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Dec 24, 2005, at 1:38 AM, Jake Nelson wrote:
> > Tony Sidaway wrote:
> >> While I sympathise with your feelings, I don't see the problem
> >> here. You signed up with Wikipedia and someone copies your signup
> >> information on a copy of Wikipedia.  So what?
> >
> > It's a real issue, especially with the search & replace the
> > Nazipedia did. Say I had the following text on my userpage:
> >
> > I have been an administrator on Wikipedia since 2003.
> >
> > On the Nazipedia, it would say:
> >
> > I have been an administrator on Nazipedia since 2003.
>
> Yep. Sucks, doesn't it? Unfortunately, if it's a consequence you're
> unwilling to accept in any circumstances, you should probably think
> twice about releasing your contributions under the GFDL.
>
> -Phil Sandifer

Surely there's something wrong with taking someone's words and
materially changing them while still attributing the words to that
person.  I have to believe it's illegal too, and not because of
copyright law (such a simple sentence as "I have been an administrator
on Wikipedia since 2003" can't be copyrighted anyway).  You mention
libel laws, and they'd probably be relevant.

Anyway, the problem here seems to be that Nazipedia is making these
changes to the user pages, not that the database of user pages are out
there in the first place.

All that said, I agree that it'd be nice to at least have the option
to download just the articles (I guess you'd have to include the
templates and maybe some other spaces too).  It should probably even
be the default.  I suspect the reason this isn't provided is simply
that no one has bothered to create these dumps.

Does anyone know a free way to host a torrent?

Anthony