Difference between revisions of "User:Blahedo/Policy on people"
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(removed some "we"s and rewrote a bit of the wikipedia page (the things mentioned are, technically, libelous)) |
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''This is a draft document. See [[User talk:Blahedo/Policy on people|the talk page]] for some explanation and discussion.'' | ''This is a draft document. See [[User talk:Blahedo/Policy on people|the talk page]] for some explanation and discussion.'' | ||
| − | + | The Wiki Fire is a public forum, and nowhere is this more important to remember than when dealing with information about actual, real people. While a working knowledge of [[libel law]] is a good start in knowing what might be appropriate to post, following are some more specific wiki policies in this area: | |
==Silliness vs. malice== | ==Silliness vs. malice== | ||
| − | The line between a silly comment and a malicious one can sometimes be a fine one, and hard to see by the original author of the comment. | + | The line between a silly comment and a malicious one can sometimes be a fine one, and hard to see by the original author of the comment. Here are some guidelines for navigating this line and helping to keep the site fun and positive: |
* If you post a comment and think better of it later, there's no shame in going back and removing it. | * If you post a comment and think better of it later, there's no shame in going back and removing it. | ||
* If you see someone else's comment that seems mean to you, but close to the line, bring it to the attention of the author of the comment. To do so, look in the page's edit history (the "History" tab at the top of the page), find the author of the comment, and leave a note on their talk page. | * If you see someone else's comment that seems mean to you, but close to the line, bring it to the attention of the author of the comment. To do so, look in the page's edit history (the "History" tab at the top of the page), find the author of the comment, and leave a note on their talk page. | ||
| − | * If you see an actually libelous comment, remove it. | + | * If you see an actually [[Libel law|libelous]] comment, remove it. |
| − | * If you see an obviously malicious comment, even if not technically libelous, remove it. | + | * If you see an obviously '''malicious''' comment, even if not technically libelous, remove it. |
* The subject of the comment (not the author!) is always the last word on whether it was malicious or not. If the subject finds it offensive, remove it. | * The subject of the comment (not the author!) is always the last word on whether it was malicious or not. If the subject finds it offensive, remove it. | ||
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==This is not Wikipedia== | ==This is not Wikipedia== | ||
| − | On Wikipedia, verifiable facts about a notable person are pretty much always fair game to post. Said facts might be relatively salacious, but as a wiki-encyclopaedia | + | On Wikipedia, verifiable facts about a notable person are pretty much always fair game to post. Said facts might be relatively salacious, but as a wiki-encyclopaedia, Wikipedia has decided that they're valid material, as long as they're sourced. |
This is not Wikipedia. | This is not Wikipedia. | ||
| − | Some things are not appropriate to post here, even if they're true. Even if they're true and you have proof. Even if they're true, you have proof, and they've been published somewhere else. The other sections of the policy on this page are not trumped by the truth (or truthiness) of a given piece of information. | + | Some things are not appropriate to post here, even if they're true. Even if they're true and you have proof. Even if they're true, you have proof, and they've been published somewhere else. The other sections of the policy on this page are not trumped by the truth (or truthiness) of a given piece of information. Just because something is not [[Libel law|libelous]] does not mean you should publish it. Nothing posted on this site should hurt someone in our community. |
==Withdrawal requests== | ==Withdrawal requests== | ||
| − | Some people are just not interested in having any facts at all about them floating around on the web, and might that the page about them be removed. The mechanics of the wiki make this infeasible, as it would create red links elsewhere, and someone could perfectly innocently re-create the page. Instead, | + | Some people are just not interested in having any facts at all about them floating around on the web, and might that the page about them be removed. The mechanics of the wiki make this infeasible, as it would create red links elsewhere, and someone could perfectly innocently re-create the page. Instead, the contents of their page should be replaced with: "This person has requested not to have a page about them on [[The Wiki Fire]], per our [[Policy on people]].", and then protect it from further editing. |
---- | ---- | ||
| − | Eventual category: | + | Eventual category: [[The Wiki Fire]] policies |
Latest revision as of 23:14, 13 May 2007
This is a draft document. See the talk page for some explanation and discussion.
The Wiki Fire is a public forum, and nowhere is this more important to remember than when dealing with information about actual, real people. While a working knowledge of libel law is a good start in knowing what might be appropriate to post, following are some more specific wiki policies in this area:
Silliness vs. malice[edit]
The line between a silly comment and a malicious one can sometimes be a fine one, and hard to see by the original author of the comment. Here are some guidelines for navigating this line and helping to keep the site fun and positive:
- If you post a comment and think better of it later, there's no shame in going back and removing it.
- If you see someone else's comment that seems mean to you, but close to the line, bring it to the attention of the author of the comment. To do so, look in the page's edit history (the "History" tab at the top of the page), find the author of the comment, and leave a note on their talk page.
- If you see an actually libelous comment, remove it.
- If you see an obviously malicious comment, even if not technically libelous, remove it.
- The subject of the comment (not the author!) is always the last word on whether it was malicious or not. If the subject finds it offensive, remove it.
If you do remove content under this policy, make sure to include your reasoning in the edit summary and/or the talk page.
This is not Wikipedia[edit]
On Wikipedia, verifiable facts about a notable person are pretty much always fair game to post. Said facts might be relatively salacious, but as a wiki-encyclopaedia, Wikipedia has decided that they're valid material, as long as they're sourced.
This is not Wikipedia.
Some things are not appropriate to post here, even if they're true. Even if they're true and you have proof. Even if they're true, you have proof, and they've been published somewhere else. The other sections of the policy on this page are not trumped by the truth (or truthiness) of a given piece of information. Just because something is not libelous does not mean you should publish it. Nothing posted on this site should hurt someone in our community.
Withdrawal requests[edit]
Some people are just not interested in having any facts at all about them floating around on the web, and might that the page about them be removed. The mechanics of the wiki make this infeasible, as it would create red links elsewhere, and someone could perfectly innocently re-create the page. Instead, the contents of their page should be replaced with: "This person has requested not to have a page about them on The Wiki Fire, per our Policy on people.", and then protect it from further editing.
Eventual category: The Wiki Fire policies
