On Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 18:20, Nathan <[email protected]> wrote: > The idea of verified accounts raises all sorts of questions and > potential problems. The Wikimedia Foundation might be able to verify > that users requesting a "company account" are connected to that > company, if the account is on the English Wikipedia. But can the > Foundation be sure that the existence of a company account is > authorized by that company? Can they do anything at all in other > languages? Should the process of "verification" be left to OTRS, or > some other group on each wiki? If verified status is granted > erroneously, and it impacts the reputation of a particular company, > who is responsible?
Well, obviously the "verified" account system should find a way to answer those questions. And I fail to see what kind of responsibility would end up on the shoulders of an administrator for blocking an account on Wikipedia. It's not like blocking a Wikipedia account actually endangered a company in any kind of way. > > Among other reasons, the English Wikipedia bans role accounts > (including corporate accounts) because we wish people to act on their > own behalf, and not claim the support or backing of a corporation. > With limited capacity to verify the basis for any claimed role, we end > up treating all such claims as suspect anyway. This restriction may be > inconvenient in some instances, but far more trouble is prevented by > maintaining the simplicity of individual to individual interaction. But as I understand it, accounts such as "Delphine-ACMEcola" are also blocked on sight right? Which prevents even me from making edits on behalf of a "company" and being really open about it. Mind you, if I was there to really make a company shinier on Wikipedia (see the recent coffee brand case recently talked about in the French Wikipedia), I would probably avoid having a corporate account at all. But for people and companies who act in good faith, I still think that role accounts should be allowed and a verify-system be put in place. Delphine -- ~notafish NB. This gmail address is used for mailing lists. Personal emails will get lost. Intercultural musings: Ceci n'est pas une endive - http://blog.notanendive.org _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
