Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Fred Bauder
> Fred Bauder wrote:
>>>
>>> I seem to have missed the detailed plans and blueprints on how to make
>>> an A-Bomb.  Care to link me? Or do you really think that the press
>>> won't
>>> sensationalise the minute it is realised someone learnt something bad
>>> from Wikipedia? I'd rather send Mr Gerard out there if it ever does
>>> so,
>>> because I think he has more chance of getting the message across that
>>> this stuff will happen with or without Wikipedia in the world.
>>
>> To tie this to the topic. We should not publish up-to-date and accurate
>> information on how to create great harm whether it is about A-bombs or
>> reporters held captive by the Taliban, and we don't, our A-bomb plans
>> will produce a bomb that will barely go off, witness the North Korea
>> fizzles.
>>
>> That is because we generally do what it takes to avoid doing harm. And
>> that is a good thing. It is simply wrong to do dumb harmful stuff.
>
> I think it is far more likely that it's because we just don't _have_ the
> detailed information that'd be needed to make an atomic bomb work. I'm
> sure you don't really think that North Korea would go to Wikipedia for
> that information, though. And anything that detailed would be more
> suitable for WikiHow or WikiSource anyway.
>
> Perhaps a more grounded-in-reality example of an article that has
> information that causes "harm" is the [[AACS encryption key
> controversy]], which contains a cryptographic key that the movie
> industry claimed was a secret vital to their business that shouldn't be
> revealed. It's not directly a life or limb thing but economic harm is
> harm nonetheless.

The problem with that one was that it was already all over, although I
don't think we should have had it even then. Each of these is different,
mainly in how widespread the information is already.

Fred



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread George Herbert
On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 9:21 AM, geni  wrote:
> 2009/9/10 Fred Bauder :
>> To tie this to the topic. We should not publish up-to-date and accurate
>> information on how to create great harm whether it is about A-bombs or
>> reporters held captive by the Taliban, and we don't, our A-bomb plans
>> will produce a bomb that will barely go off, witness the North Korea
>> fizzles.
>
> North Korean was a plutonium based implosion design and since we don't
> have much info on explosive lenses not really relevant.
>
> Now our information can't really be said to be up to date since the
> weapon type we have the most info about hasn't existed since 1991 (as
> far as is known).
>
> But:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun-type_fission_weapon

More appropriately, the [[Little Boy]] article, and its current
primary source (John Coster-Mullen's book).

The general gun-type weapon article only contains generalities.  The
Little Boy article contains a precise but not dimensioned diagram of
the weapon, and detailed dimensions and masses for the critical
assembly (uranium parts), and weights for the subassemblies of the
tamper/reflector and the steel casing components.  John's book from
which the diagram and details were derived has detailed dimensions
(enough to draw a blueprint and manufacture a functional replica) on
all the functional parts.  John's book was derived from firsthand
measurements of Little Boy units in museums, plus most of the design
and development and assembly records, which were declassified (and
then apparently reclassified, but the copies already out aren't
legally recallable so they're effectively all public now).

Of course, that's a 5-metric-ton weapon, which is not militarily
useful at this point.


-- 
-george william herbert
george.herb...@gmail.com

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread stevertigo
Fred Bauder  wrote:

> To tie this to the topic. We should not publish up-to-date and accurate
> information on how to create great harm whether it is about A-bombs or
> reporters held captive by the Taliban, and we don't, our A-bomb plans
> will produce a bomb that will barely go off, witness the North Korea
> fizzles.

Ha. [citation needed]

> That is because we generally do what it takes to avoid doing harm. And
> that is a good thing. It is simply wrong to do dumb harmful stuff.

Doesn't seem to stop or slow down Arbcom.

-Stevertigo

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread geni
2009/9/10 Fred Bauder :
> To tie this to the topic. We should not publish up-to-date and accurate
> information on how to create great harm whether it is about A-bombs or
> reporters held captive by the Taliban, and we don't, our A-bomb plans
> will produce a bomb that will barely go off, witness the North Korea
> fizzles.

North Korean was a plutonium based implosion design and since we don't
have much info on explosive lenses not really relevant.

Now our information can't really be said to be up to date since the
weapon type we have the most info about hasn't existed since 1991 (as
far as is known).

But:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun-type_fission_weapon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_hexafluoride
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_enrichment

Or for a rather messy method:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calutron

(actually you could in theory at least use that method to build a
plutonium based gun type weapon but there would seem to be little
point and no one has actually done it).

> That is because we generally do what it takes to avoid doing harm. And
> that is a good thing. It is simply wrong to do dumb harmful stuff.
>
> Fred

The benefit of the above it is makes it possible to form a reasonable
assessment of politicians claims about say Iran's nuclear abilities.



-- 
geni

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread stevertigo
Previous post correction diff:

-commented about "Iranian" news
+commented about an "Iranian" news
-about all of familiar sources
+about all of our familiar sources
-tabloids and the slowly
+tabloids and then slowly

-Stevertigo

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread stevertigo
Fred Bauder  wrote:

> Well, you see, with respect to news of the Taliban's doings, they
> probably are much more reliable then other media.

I was about to say... you earlier commented about "Iranian" news
source and its reliability. You framed it as a question, "is [source]
reliable?" but gave the impression that it somehow wasn't. I'm glad
you made the point above, and if anyone doesn't understand it, they
can start to think about all of familiar sources, starting with
conspiracy theory sources, gossip rags, and tabloids and the slowly
work their way up to People magazine. At that point they would
probably be tired and would get the point: Don't knock it just because
its "Iranian."

> Let's suppose you have in your possession exact detailed plans for a
> small H-bomb. Would you think you could simply put it into Wikipedia?

Only if we have reliable, well-researched, and peer-reviewed sources.

-Stevertigo

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Surreptitiousness
Bryan Derksen wrote:
> Surreptitiousness wrote:
>   
>> wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
>> 
>>> We are supposed to be community-driven.
>>> Where is the community consensus on media blackouts?
>>> Link please.
>>>   
>>>   
>> I'm amused by the idea that you can link to community consensus. We need 
>> a picture of thousands of Wikipedians sitting at their computer with 
>> either smiles or frowns, which we can link to at times like this. Since 
>> consensus is supposed to be emergent of the wiki process on Wikipedia, 
>> per foundation principles, I'm not sure what you mean.  Didn't they link 
>> to the situation and its resolution? How would that not be a consensus?
>> 
>
> I imagine he was hoping for a link to an RFC or a talk page where the
> subject had been discussed and a consensus had formed as a result. This
> sort of thing happens all the time, I don't see what's amusing or
> bizarre about the concept.
>
> Simply linking to the "situation and its resolution" doesn't show
> consensus in this case because the "resolution" was imposed without
> discussion by a small number of people.
>
>   
Hmmm.  I must have mis-imagined the foundation principle, because I'm 
fairly sure it mentioned the wiki process as the consensus making 
method, not talking about stuff.  There's no need to have an RFC or a 
talk page about everything, and quite often you'll find the consensus 
actually is the situation and its resolution. I'm amused that any 
situation where something hasn't been discussed equates to an imposition 
of will. I'm also amused we read into emails the worst possible meaning 
rather than adopt a general air of amusement.  But in all seriousness, I 
was very particular in writing that the resolution was, to quote, "a 
consensus" rather than The Consensus.  I'd also imagine that if Will's 
purpose was to challenge the consensus on media blackouts, Will would be 
doing so on Wikipedia via an RFC or talk page discussion.  Asking where 
the consensus is documented is a little backwards, because the consensus 
is actually in what we do.  RFC's and talk page discussions are just 
what we think, and policies and guidance just describe what we do.  What 
we do is where the consensus lies. If you want to change what we do, 
that's one thing, but if you want to know where what we do is 
documented, that's another.  It may be that the consensus hasn;t been 
documented yet, or it may be that consensus is fragile.  We don't know. 
I just found it amusing that Will thinks we are community driven but 
also asked for a link to consensus.  To me that is somewhat illogical, 
since you can;t link to the community.  Either we are community driven 
or we are rules driven.  We can't really be both, although there are 
obvious exceptions.

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Emily Monroe
> I picture you as a sort of Rachel Welch, with thigh-high boots and a  
> whip in a minidress

Huh boy. I'm flattered.

> Firstly, your email icon is a kitten is it not?

Actually, it's a "bully breed" (ie bull dog) type dog tilting it's head.

Emily
On Sep 9, 2009, at 7:38 PM, wjhon...@aol.com wrote:

> Easily confused?
> I picture you as a sort of Rachel Welch, with thigh-high boots and a
> whip in a minidress
>
> Firstly, your email icon is a kitten is it not?
> Secondly your message "how does this relate?" sound like you are
> cracking your whip at the group for being bad and chatting.
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Emily Monroe 
> To: English Wikipedia 
> Sent: Wed, Sep 9, 2009 5:34 pm
> Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT
> reporter in Afghanistan
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>> Your new nickname is "Kitten with a Whip"
>
> What? I'm confused.
>
> Emily
> On Sep 9, 2009, at 7:32 PM, wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
>
>> Emily wrote:
>> <>
>>
>> Your new nickname is "Kitten with a Whip"
>>
>>
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>
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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Bryan Derksen
Fred Bauder wrote:
>>
>> I seem to have missed the detailed plans and blueprints on how to make
>> an A-Bomb.  Care to link me? Or do you really think that the press won't
>> sensationalise the minute it is realised someone learnt something bad
>> from Wikipedia? I'd rather send Mr Gerard out there if it ever does so,
>> because I think he has more chance of getting the message across that
>> this stuff will happen with or without Wikipedia in the world.
> 
> To tie this to the topic. We should not publish up-to-date and accurate
> information on how to create great harm whether it is about A-bombs or
> reporters held captive by the Taliban, and we don't, our A-bomb plans
> will produce a bomb that will barely go off, witness the North Korea
> fizzles.
> 
> That is because we generally do what it takes to avoid doing harm. And
> that is a good thing. It is simply wrong to do dumb harmful stuff.

I think it is far more likely that it's because we just don't _have_ the
detailed information that'd be needed to make an atomic bomb work. I'm
sure you don't really think that North Korea would go to Wikipedia for
that information, though. And anything that detailed would be more
suitable for WikiHow or WikiSource anyway.

Perhaps a more grounded-in-reality example of an article that has
information that causes "harm" is the [[AACS encryption key
controversy]], which contains a cryptographic key that the movie
industry claimed was a secret vital to their business that shouldn't be
revealed. It's not directly a life or limb thing but economic harm is
harm nonetheless.



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Emily Monroe
That's a very nice interpretation, and in retrospect, I think that's  
what Will meant.

Emily
On Sep 9, 2009, at 10:02 PM, Carcharoth wrote:

> On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 1:34 AM, Emily Monroe   
> wrote:
>> On Sep 9, 2009, at 7:32 PM, wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
>>> Emily wrote:
>>
>>> <>
>>>
>>> Your new nickname is "Kitten with a Whip"
>>
>> What? I'm confused.
>
> I think he is saying that you correctly pointed out that people were
> drifting off-topic, and he sees you as a kitten (presumably "nice")
> but with a whip, telling people to stop going off-topic. But there
> might be other references I'm missing there. I'd take it as a
> compliment and make up a nice nickname for Will for you to give him
> next time he (or anyone) goes off-topic.
>
> Carcharoth
>
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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Bryan Derksen
Surreptitiousness wrote:
> wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
>> We are supposed to be community-driven.
>> Where is the community consensus on media blackouts?
>> Link please.
>>   
> I'm amused by the idea that you can link to community consensus. We need 
> a picture of thousands of Wikipedians sitting at their computer with 
> either smiles or frowns, which we can link to at times like this. Since 
> consensus is supposed to be emergent of the wiki process on Wikipedia, 
> per foundation principles, I'm not sure what you mean.  Didn't they link 
> to the situation and its resolution? How would that not be a consensus?

I imagine he was hoping for a link to an RFC or a talk page where the
subject had been discussed and a consensus had formed as a result. This
sort of thing happens all the time, I don't see what's amusing or
bizarre about the concept.

Simply linking to the "situation and its resolution" doesn't show
consensus in this case because the "resolution" was imposed without
discussion by a small number of people.



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Thomas Dalton
2009/9/10 Bryan Derksen :
> wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
>> Investigative Journalism should go to WikiNews.
>
> Something I'd like to know before considering this as a potential
> compromise is whether the Foundation would simply censor WikiNews in
> exactly the same way.

Did the Foundation have anything to do with this? I don't know about
the latest instance, but the last one was, as far as I know, just
Jimmy Wales and a handful of admins, not Foundation involvement.
(Remember, Jimmy is just a board member, he has no individual power in
the Foundation.)

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Fred Bauder

> And even if "do no harm" really _was_ a universal principle that we all
> followed, it's still open to debate whether reporting information like
> this actually does cause harm.

Such matters are a question of judgment. Information about potential harm
needs to be accurate and common sense applied. To a certain extent this
conversation has been about, "Common sense, what's common sense?, I don't
want no stinking commons sense, I'll work to rule and, if harm results,
tough!, Harm to Wikipedia?, Public relations? Piss on that!"

Fred



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Fred Bauder
> Fred Bauder wrote:
>>> wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
 Investigative Journalism should go to WikiNews.
>>> Something I'd like to know before considering this as a potential
>>> compromise is whether the Foundation would simply censor WikiNews in
>>> exactly the same way.
>>
>> Any responsible journalist will.
>
> That doesn't answer the question. I wasn't asking about journalists of
> whatever particular type you consider "responsible" or not, I was
> specifically asking if the Foundation would censor WikiNews in the same
> way as has been done to Wikipedia. My point is that if the answer here
> is yes, the suggestion that "Investigative Journalism should go to
> WikiNews" isn't going to be useful in this case.

Whatever happens at WikiNews should be responsible just as any other
media is. If posting something on Wikipedia is harmful, it will be
harmful there too. The question is how to make such judgments reasonably
well, and not evoke such considerations in inappropriate circumstances.
That is what the Foundation does in such cases, they pass information on
from outside sources that are knowledgeable about the situation.

Fred


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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Fred Bauder
>
>
> I seem to have missed the detailed plans and blueprints on how to make
> an A-Bomb.  Care to link me? Or do you really think that the press won't
> sensationalise the minute it is realised someone learnt something bad
> from Wikipedia? I'd rather send Mr Gerard out there if it ever does so,
> because I think he has more chance of getting the message across that
> this stuff will happen with or without Wikipedia in the world.

To tie this to the topic. We should not publish up-to-date and accurate
information on how to create great harm whether it is about A-bombs or
reporters held captive by the Taliban, and we don't, our A-bomb plans
will produce a bomb that will barely go off, witness the North Korea
fizzles.

That is because we generally do what it takes to avoid doing harm. And
that is a good thing. It is simply wrong to do dumb harmful stuff.

Fred



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Surreptitiousness
geni wrote:
> 2009/9/10 Surreptitiousness :
>   
>> wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
>> 
>>> It's a bit of a mistaken idea that the issue with H bombs is their
>>> "plans".
>>> The method of making an H bomb is widely known.
>>> The problem is not the blueprints.  It's creating the necessary
>>> equipment in order to enrich the uranium in the first place.  Not a
>>> cheap thing to do.  Everyone however knows *how* to do it.
>>>
>>> The how isn't the problem.
>>>
>>>   
>> I nominate Will as the person making press statements when someone does
>> write the how to make a H-Bomb article.  I'm sure they won't
>> sensationalise it at all, once Will has explained it all.
>> 
>
> They haven't objected to our how to make an A-bomb info and our
> (admittedly rather limited) stuff on chemical weaponry. And our
> absolutely staggering amount of information on how to wage war in just
> about any time period.
>   

I seem to have missed the detailed plans and blueprints on how to make 
an A-Bomb.  Care to link me? Or do you really think that the press won't 
sensationalise the minute it is realised someone learnt something bad 
from Wikipedia? I'd rather send Mr Gerard out there if it ever does so, 
because I think he has more chance of getting the message across that 
this stuff will happen with or without Wikipedia in the world.

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread geni
2009/9/10 Surreptitiousness :
> wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
>> It's a bit of a mistaken idea that the issue with H bombs is their
>> "plans".
>> The method of making an H bomb is widely known.
>> The problem is not the blueprints.  It's creating the necessary
>> equipment in order to enrich the uranium in the first place.  Not a
>> cheap thing to do.  Everyone however knows *how* to do it.
>>
>> The how isn't the problem.
>>
> I nominate Will as the person making press statements when someone does
> write the how to make a H-Bomb article.  I'm sure they won't
> sensationalise it at all, once Will has explained it all.

They haven't objected to our how to make an A-bomb info and our
(admittedly rather limited) stuff on chemical weaponry. And our
absolutely staggering amount of information on how to wage war in just
about any time period.


-- 
geni

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Surreptitiousness
wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
> It's a bit of a mistaken idea that the issue with H bombs is their 
> "plans".
> The method of making an H bomb is widely known.
> The problem is not the blueprints.  It's creating the necessary 
> equipment in order to enrich the uranium in the first place.  Not a 
> cheap thing to do.  Everyone however knows *how* to do it.
>
> The how isn't the problem.
>   
I nominate Will as the person making press statements when someone does 
write the how to make a H-Bomb article.  I'm sure they won't 
sensationalise it at all, once Will has explained it all.

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Surreptitiousness
wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
> We are supposed to be community-driven.
> Where is the community consensus on media blackouts?
> Link please.
>   
I'm amused by the idea that you can link to community consensus. We need 
a picture of thousands of Wikipedians sitting at their computer with 
either smiles or frowns, which we can link to at times like this. Since 
consensus is supposed to be emergent of the wiki process on Wikipedia, 
per foundation principles, I'm not sure what you mean.  Didn't they link 
to the situation and its resolution? How would that not be a consensus?

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread FT2
On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 8:03 AM, Jussi-Ville Heiskanen  wrote:

> It may not actually be as clear cut as you assume.
>
> Psychological tests may for instance be crucial in
> deciding issues in criminal cases, and as such may
> have a very remote chance of affecting life and
>  death issues.




So might anything, potentially.

FT2
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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-10 Thread Jussi-Ville Heiskanen
George Herbert wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 6:54 PM, Bryan Derksen  wrote:
>   
>> At the very least consensus can't be said to be obvious on this, IMO.
>> The "we should conceal information that could potentially harm people"
>> argument didn't hold much weight in the recently-concluded Rorschach Wars.
>> 
>
> There is no reasonable comparison between potential reduced
> effectiveness of psychological tests and potentially provoking the
> beheading of a human being.
>
>
>   
It may not actually be as clear cut as you assume.

Psychological tests may for instance be crucial in
deciding issues in criminal cases, and as such may
have a very remote chance of affecting life and
death issues.


Yours,

Jussi-Ville Heiskanen


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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Bryan Derksen
Fred Bauder wrote:
>> Fred Bauder wrote:
 We are supposed to be community-driven.
 Where is the community consensus on media blackouts?
 Link please.
>>> Interesting, as there is a consensus. It just isn't written down. Do no
>>> harm; any problem with that?
>> At the very least consensus can't be said to be obvious on this, IMO.
>> The "we should conceal information that could potentially harm people"
>> argument didn't hold much weight in the recently-concluded Rorschach
>> Wars.
> 
> I didn't follow that, but I suspect they've been out there for a long
> time. And using the same blots for decades is absurd anyway.

And yet nevertheless there were editors who were arguing that exposing
people to the ink blots was likely to cause serious harm. I'm not
claiming the two cases are exactly equivalent, just enough so that I
wouldn't say that it's reasonable to assume the opposite consensus in a
related matter without looking for evidence first.

> I think there are universal principles that we follow. Failures in one
> instance or another is to be expected.

The problem is that I don't think your principles are necessarily
"universal". You're just assuming they are.

And even if "do no harm" really _was_ a universal principle that we all
followed, it's still open to debate whether reporting information like
this actually does cause harm.



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Bryan Derksen
Fred Bauder wrote:
>> wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
>>> Investigative Journalism should go to WikiNews.
>> Something I'd like to know before considering this as a potential
>> compromise is whether the Foundation would simply censor WikiNews in
>> exactly the same way.
> 
> Any responsible journalist will.

That doesn't answer the question. I wasn't asking about journalists of
whatever particular type you consider "responsible" or not, I was
specifically asking if the Foundation would censor WikiNews in the same
way as has been done to Wikipedia. My point is that if the answer here
is yes, the suggestion that "Investigative Journalism should go to
WikiNews" isn't going to be useful in this case.



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread wjhonson
Easily confused?
I picture you as a sort of Rachel Welch, with thigh-high boots and a 
whip in a minidress

Firstly, your email icon is a kitten is it not?
Secondly your message "how does this relate?" sound like you are 
cracking your whip at the group for being bad and chatting.


-Original Message-
From: Emily Monroe 
To: English Wikipedia 
Sent: Wed, Sep 9, 2009 5:34 pm
Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT 
reporter in Afghanistan










> Your new nickname is "Kitten with a Whip"

What? I'm confused.

Emily
On Sep 9, 2009, at 7:32 PM, wjhon...@aol.com wrote:

> Emily wrote:
> <>
>
> Your new nickname is "Kitten with a Whip"
>
>
> ___
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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Carcharoth
On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 1:34 AM, Emily Monroe  wrote:
> On Sep 9, 2009, at 7:32 PM, wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
>> Emily wrote:
>
>> <>
>>
>> Your new nickname is "Kitten with a Whip"
>
> What? I'm confused.

I think he is saying that you correctly pointed out that people were
drifting off-topic, and he sees you as a kitten (presumably "nice")
but with a whip, telling people to stop going off-topic. But there
might be other references I'm missing there. I'd take it as a
compliment and make up a nice nickname for Will for you to give him
next time he (or anyone) goes off-topic.

Carcharoth

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Fred Bauder
> wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
>> Investigative Journalism should go to WikiNews.
>
> Something I'd like to know before considering this as a potential
> compromise is whether the Foundation would simply censor WikiNews in
> exactly the same way.

Any responsible journalist will.

Fred



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Fred Bauder
> Fred Bauder wrote:
>>> We are supposed to be community-driven.
>>> Where is the community consensus on media blackouts?
>>> Link please.
>>
>> Interesting, as there is a consensus. It just isn't written down. Do no
>> harm; any problem with that?
>
> At the very least consensus can't be said to be obvious on this, IMO.
> The "we should conceal information that could potentially harm people"
> argument didn't hold much weight in the recently-concluded Rorschach
> Wars.

I didn't follow that, but I suspect they've been out there for a long
time. And using the same blots for decades is absurd anyway.

I think there are universal principles that we follow. Failures in one
instance or another is to be expected.

A pope having a wife and family does not negate the principles of
Christianity.

Fred


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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread George Herbert
On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 6:54 PM, Bryan Derksen  wrote:
> At the very least consensus can't be said to be obvious on this, IMO.
> The "we should conceal information that could potentially harm people"
> argument didn't hold much weight in the recently-concluded Rorschach Wars.

There is no reasonable comparison between potential reduced
effectiveness of psychological tests and potentially provoking the
beheading of a human being.


-- 
-george william herbert
george.herb...@gmail.com

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Bryan Derksen
Fred Bauder wrote:
>> We are supposed to be community-driven.
>> Where is the community consensus on media blackouts?
>> Link please.
> 
> Interesting, as there is a consensus. It just isn't written down. Do no
> harm; any problem with that?

At the very least consensus can't be said to be obvious on this, IMO.
The "we should conceal information that could potentially harm people"
argument didn't hold much weight in the recently-concluded Rorschach Wars.



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Bryan Derksen
wjhon...@aol.com wrote:
> Investigative Journalism should go to WikiNews.

Something I'd like to know before considering this as a potential
compromise is whether the Foundation would simply censor WikiNews in
exactly the same way.



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Emily Monroe
> Your new nickname is "Kitten with a Whip"

What? I'm confused.

Emily
On Sep 9, 2009, at 7:32 PM, wjhon...@aol.com wrote:

> Emily wrote:
> <>
>
> Your new nickname is "Kitten with a Whip"
>
>
> ___
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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread wjhonson
Emily wrote:
<>

Your new nickname is "Kitten with a Whip"


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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Emily Monroe
How does this discussion relate to Wikipedia?

Emily
On Sep 9, 2009, at 7:07 PM, geni wrote:

> 2009/9/10 George Herbert :
>> This is wishful thinking, Geni.
>>
>> Making really small H-bombs (100 kg) is slightly tricky - but medium
>> sized ones (1 ton) is not.
>
>
> Uk's first attempt failed and India's probably did. I think that
> qualifies as tricky.
>
>
>> And the explosive lenses get easier the more you know about how to
>> make them.  The 1945 vintage ones we show for [[Fat Man]] are far
>> harder to design and make than the ones used just 10 years later  
>> for a
>> Brok / [[Mark 12 nuclear bomb]].
>>
>> Which are easier to design, but bigger and therefore somewhat harder
>> to actually make, than the ones from five years after that in the
>> [[B-61 nuclear bomb]], which are conceptually quite simple (and not
>> that computationally hard).  Which are harder to make, if a lot  
>> easier
>> to calculate, than the [[W88]].
>>
>> There are no WP:RS compatible sources one can cite for those
>> developments and details, and WP:NOT a bomb manual, but thinking that
>> they're that difficult just because they're not talked about widely  
>> is
>> wishful thinking.
>
> North Korean attempt failed which suggests that unless you have the
> plans to hand explosive lenses take work to get right.
>
> -- 
> geni
>
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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread geni
2009/9/10 George Herbert :
> This is wishful thinking, Geni.
>
> Making really small H-bombs (100 kg) is slightly tricky - but medium
> sized ones (1 ton) is not.


Uk's first attempt failed and India's probably did. I think that
qualifies as tricky.


> And the explosive lenses get easier the more you know about how to
> make them.  The 1945 vintage ones we show for [[Fat Man]] are far
> harder to design and make than the ones used just 10 years later for a
> Brok / [[Mark 12 nuclear bomb]].
>
> Which are easier to design, but bigger and therefore somewhat harder
> to actually make, than the ones from five years after that in the
> [[B-61 nuclear bomb]], which are conceptually quite simple (and not
> that computationally hard).  Which are harder to make, if a lot easier
> to calculate, than the [[W88]].
>
> There are no WP:RS compatible sources one can cite for those
> developments and details, and WP:NOT a bomb manual, but thinking that
> they're that difficult just because they're not talked about widely is
> wishful thinking.

North Korean attempt failed which suggests that unless you have the
plans to hand explosive lenses take work to get right.

-- 
geni

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread George Herbert
On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 4:35 PM, Thomas Dalton  wrote:
> 2009/9/10 George Herbert :
>> On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 3:32 PM, geni  wrote:
>>> 2009/9/9  :
 It's a bit of a mistaken idea that the issue with H bombs is their
 "plans".
 The method of making an H bomb is widely known.
 The problem is not the blueprints.  It's creating the necessary
 equipment in order to enrich the uranium in the first place.  Not a
 cheap thing to do.  Everyone however knows *how* to do it.
>>>
>>> No thats the A-bomb (and even then explosive lenses are
>>> problematical). H-Bomb plane still contain significant elements of
>>> speculation. The various failed attempts to construct them suggest
>>> it's not that easy.
>>
>> This is wishful thinking, Geni.
>>
>> Making really small H-bombs (100 kg) is slightly tricky - but medium
>> sized ones (1 ton) is not.
>>
>> And the explosive lenses get easier the more you know about how to
>> make them.  The 1945 vintage ones we show for [[Fat Man]] are far
>> harder to design and make than the ones used just 10 years later for a
>> Brok / [[Mark 12 nuclear bomb]].
>
> You have completely missed Geni's point. Fat Man was an A-bomb, not an
> H-bomb. Please read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_design

Geni's points were that A-bombs are not H-bombs (which I did not
address, and is correct), that A-bomb explosive lenses are somewhat
problematical (which I disagree with), and that H-bomb design contains
significant elements of speculation (which I disagree with generally -
specifically to large and mid-sized H-bombs, which are not that
complicated - but I do not disagree so much about very compact H-bomb
design, as the specific geometry of the use of Foglight in the last
generation of designs is still somewhat opaque in public knowledge).

I don't need to reread the article; I've written large parts of it,
and could write a book sized version with all the ugly math and
specific examples.


-- 
-george william herbert
george.herb...@gmail.com

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Thomas Dalton
2009/9/10 George Herbert :
> On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 3:32 PM, geni  wrote:
>> 2009/9/9  :
>>> It's a bit of a mistaken idea that the issue with H bombs is their
>>> "plans".
>>> The method of making an H bomb is widely known.
>>> The problem is not the blueprints.  It's creating the necessary
>>> equipment in order to enrich the uranium in the first place.  Not a
>>> cheap thing to do.  Everyone however knows *how* to do it.
>>
>> No thats the A-bomb (and even then explosive lenses are
>> problematical). H-Bomb plane still contain significant elements of
>> speculation. The various failed attempts to construct them suggest
>> it's not that easy.
>
> This is wishful thinking, Geni.
>
> Making really small H-bombs (100 kg) is slightly tricky - but medium
> sized ones (1 ton) is not.
>
> And the explosive lenses get easier the more you know about how to
> make them.  The 1945 vintage ones we show for [[Fat Man]] are far
> harder to design and make than the ones used just 10 years later for a
> Brok / [[Mark 12 nuclear bomb]].

You have completely missed Geni's point. Fat Man was an A-bomb, not an
H-bomb. Please read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_design

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread George Herbert
On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 3:32 PM, geni  wrote:
> 2009/9/9  :
>> It's a bit of a mistaken idea that the issue with H bombs is their
>> "plans".
>> The method of making an H bomb is widely known.
>> The problem is not the blueprints.  It's creating the necessary
>> equipment in order to enrich the uranium in the first place.  Not a
>> cheap thing to do.  Everyone however knows *how* to do it.
>
> No thats the A-bomb (and even then explosive lenses are
> problematical). H-Bomb plane still contain significant elements of
> speculation. The various failed attempts to construct them suggest
> it's not that easy.

This is wishful thinking, Geni.

Making really small H-bombs (100 kg) is slightly tricky - but medium
sized ones (1 ton) is not.

And the explosive lenses get easier the more you know about how to
make them.  The 1945 vintage ones we show for [[Fat Man]] are far
harder to design and make than the ones used just 10 years later for a
Brok / [[Mark 12 nuclear bomb]].

Which are easier to design, but bigger and therefore somewhat harder
to actually make, than the ones from five years after that in the
[[B-61 nuclear bomb]], which are conceptually quite simple (and not
that computationally hard).  Which are harder to make, if a lot easier
to calculate, than the [[W88]].

There are no WP:RS compatible sources one can cite for those
developments and details, and WP:NOT a bomb manual, but thinking that
they're that difficult just because they're not talked about widely is
wishful thinking.

I wish people would stop using nuclear plans as the hypothetical for
these discussions...


-- 
-george william herbert
george.herb...@gmail.com

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread wjhonson
-Original Message-
From: geni 
To: English Wikipedia 
Sent: Wed, Sep 9, 2009 3:32 pm
Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT 
reporter in Afghanistan


2009/9/9  :
> The entire argument about keeping the names of kidnap victims secret 
to
> me is flat.  I do not see the logic behind the belief that it will
> preserve their lives in any way, for example.

Well this time around 3 civilians died. Not sure if that counts as 
successful.
geni



  Those who support the idea of keeping this information secret would 
probably argue that more would have died if it weren't.  And those who 
oppose it would say, "See it didn't work".

Something for everybody!

Will Johnson




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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread geni
2009/9/9  :
> It's a bit of a mistaken idea that the issue with H bombs is their
> "plans".
> The method of making an H bomb is widely known.
> The problem is not the blueprints.  It's creating the necessary
> equipment in order to enrich the uranium in the first place.  Not a
> cheap thing to do.  Everyone however knows *how* to do it.

No thats the A-bomb (and even then explosive lenses are
problematical). H-Bomb plane still contain significant elements of
speculation. The various failed attempts to construct them suggest
it's not that easy.



> The entire argument about keeping the names of kidnap victims secret to
> me is flat.  I do not see the logic behind the belief that it will
> preserve their lives in any way, for example.

Well this time around 3 civilians died. Not sure if that counts as successful.


-- 
geni

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread wjhonson
It's a bit of a mistaken idea that the issue with H bombs is their 
"plans".
The method of making an H bomb is widely known.
The problem is not the blueprints.  It's creating the necessary 
equipment in order to enrich the uranium in the first place.  Not a 
cheap thing to do.  Everyone however knows *how* to do it.

The how isn't the problem.

The entire argument about keeping the names of kidnap victims secret to 
me is flat.  I do not see the logic behind the belief that it will 
preserve their lives in any way, for example.  So even if the community 
were to agree to "do no harm" (whatever that means), the further 
necessary step is to show, in a concrete way, how revealing the name of 
a victim does "harm".

I'm sure you can see that.  Just as I'm sure that you can see, that 
people other than yourself, might find the entire argument meaningless, 
or without adequate justification.

Will Johnson






-Original Message-
From: Fred Bauder 
To: English Wikipedia 
Sent: Wed, Sep 9, 2009 3:13 pm
Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT 
reporter in Afghanistan







> Interesting here is what they say about themselves
> "
>
> Press TV takes revolutionary steps as the first Iranian international
> news network, broadcasting in English on a round-the-clock basis.
>
> Our global Tehran-based headquarters is staffed with outstanding
> Iranian and foreign media professionals.
>
> Press TV is extensively networked with bureaus located in the world's
> most strategic cities."
> ENDQUOTE
>
> We're put in the unenviable position of determining whether this is a
> reliable source.
> They certainly seem internet-savvy from mousing around their site.
>
> Will
>

Well, you see, with respect to news of the Taliban's doings, they
probably are much more reliable then other media. They did talk to a
Taliban regional commander and got the story. I'm sure the CIA took 
their
information seriously. It is a fiction that they are not reliable as it
is a fiction that a Taliban commander is a not lot more trustworthy 
than,
say, the President of Afghanistan. However, we need not be so clever as
all that. We can play dumb, and should. And users who come upon this
information can chose to play along, or not. At some point, a reasonably
perceptive person will realize that the information is hot, and
inappropriate for inclusion in Wikipedia.

Let's suppose you have in your possession exact detailed plans for a
small H-bomb. Would you think you could simply put it into Wikipedia?

Fred


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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread geni
2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :
> Well, you see, with respect to news of the Taliban's doings, they
> probably are much more reliable then other media. They did talk to a
> Taliban regional commander and got the story.

Iran and the Taliban don't exactly get on so unlikely they would just
repeat a taliban story. It's fairly clear that the story wasn't really
secret within Afghanistan.

>I'm sure the CIA took their
> information seriously.

I'm sure they already knew if they felt they needed to.

> It is a fiction that they are not reliable as it
> is a fiction that a Taliban commander is a not lot more trustworthy than,
> say, the President of Afghanistan.

Nah they are probably about level.

>However, we need not be so clever as
> all that. We can play dumb, and should. And users who come upon this
> information can chose to play along, or not. At some point, a reasonably
> perceptive person will realize that the information is hot, and
> inappropriate for inclusion in Wikipedia.

Except there were other sources.

> Let's suppose you have in your possession exact detailed plans for a
> small H-bomb. Would you think you could simply put it into Wikipedia?

Depends where I got it from.

-- 
geni

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Fred Bauder
> Interesting here is what they say about themselves
> "
>
> Press TV takes revolutionary steps as the first Iranian international
> news network, broadcasting in English on a round-the-clock basis.
>
> Our global Tehran-based headquarters is staffed with outstanding
> Iranian and foreign media professionals.
>
> Press TV is extensively networked with bureaus located in the world's
> most strategic cities."
> ENDQUOTE
>
> We're put in the unenviable position of determining whether this is a
> reliable source.
> They certainly seem internet-savvy from mousing around their site.
>
> Will
>

Well, you see, with respect to news of the Taliban's doings, they
probably are much more reliable then other media. They did talk to a
Taliban regional commander and got the story. I'm sure the CIA took their
information seriously. It is a fiction that they are not reliable as it
is a fiction that a Taliban commander is a not lot more trustworthy than,
say, the President of Afghanistan. However, we need not be so clever as
all that. We can play dumb, and should. And users who come upon this
information can chose to play along, or not. At some point, a reasonably
perceptive person will realize that the information is hot, and
inappropriate for inclusion in Wikipedia.

Let's suppose you have in your possession exact detailed plans for a
small H-bomb. Would you think you could simply put it into Wikipedia?

Fred


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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread geni
2009/9/9  :
> I don't think the point is "needing to reach" but rather it's "slapping
> the hand that reaches".
> Which is a little more pro-active, and less passive sounding.
> Is our position to be that, with a reliable source, we need multiple
> sources "in these cases" as Fred puts it.  And I really don't know what
> that implies.  Perhaps the NYT can stop being double-faced and come
> clean on their exact argument for blackouts.
>
> Was this even a blackout?  Or was it merely the case that there were
> not enough sources reporting it yet?


Several days with out the western media really talking about it and
that OTRS email suggests blackout. I

As for the sources the long war journal is a rather better source than
it initially appears:

http://www.longwarjournal.org/staff.php

And the South African independent is certainly legit if we can show
that the article existed at the point it was linked to.

-- 
geni

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread wjhonson
I don't think the point is "needing to reach" but rather it's "slapping 
the hand that reaches".
Which is a little more pro-active, and less passive sounding.
Is our position to be that, with a reliable source, we need multiple 
sources "in these cases" as Fred puts it.  And I really don't know what 
that implies.  Perhaps the NYT can stop being double-faced and come 
clean on their exact argument for blackouts.

Was this even a blackout?  Or was it merely the case that there were 
not enough sources reporting it yet?




-Original Message-
From: Fred Bauder 
To: wikien-l@lists.wikimedia.org
Sent: Wed, Sep 9, 2009 2:53 pm
Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT 
reporter in Afghanistan










> Once it's all over
> the media, it's not our problem; when it isn't, it shouldn't be in the
> article.

> - d.

Yes, we simply need not reach. At least not in such instances.

Fred



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread wjhonson
Interesting here is what they say about themselves
"

Press TV takes revolutionary steps as the first Iranian international 
news network, broadcasting in English on a round-the-clock basis.

Our global Tehran-based headquarters is staffed with outstanding 
Iranian and foreign media professionals.

Press TV is extensively networked with bureaus located in the world's 
most strategic cities."
ENDQUOTE

We're put in the unenviable position of determining whether this is a 
reliable source.
They certainly seem internet-savvy from mousing around their site.

Will




-Original Message-
From: Thomas Dalton 
To: English Wikipedia 
Sent: Wed, Sep 9, 2009 2:50 pm
Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT 
reporter in Afghanistan










2009/9/9  :
> Well what were the sources?
> Someone mentioned that there were sources, but didn't mention what.

They are all in the article history. This news article, for instance,
seems reliable:

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=105379§ionid=351020403

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Fred Bauder
> 2009/9/9  :
>> Well what were the sources?
>> Someone mentioned that there were sources, but didn't mention what.
>
> They are all in the article history. This news article, for instance,
> seems reliable:

Iranian press, sourced in a Taliban regional commander. Since when is
that a reliable source?

Fred



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Fred Bauder
> Once it's all over
> the media, it's not our problem; when it isn't, it shouldn't be in the
> article.

> - d.

Yes, we simply need not reach. At least not in such instances.

Fred



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Thomas Dalton
2009/9/9  :
> Well what were the sources?
> Someone mentioned that there were sources, but didn't mention what.

They are all in the article history. This news article, for instance,
seems reliable:

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=105379§ionid=351020403

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread wjhonson
Well what were the sources?
Someone mentioned that there were sources, but didn't mention what.








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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Thomas Dalton
2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :
>> We are supposed to be community-driven.
>> Where is the community consensus on media blackouts?
>> Link please.
>>
>> Will Johnson
>>
>
> Interesting, as there is a consensus. It just isn't written down. Do no
> harm; any problem with that?

There is no such consensus. We try to minimise harm while complying
with our other values, we don't avoid harm entirely. We will discuss
criminal convictions in BLPs (subject to due weight requirements), for
example, despite them being harmful.

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread wjhonson
"Do no harm" isn't a consensus however.
That language is so incredibly vague it could be taken to mean almost 
anything.
Fred we've been over this many times on this list :)
You really want to do it again?
We have articles on murder victims which appear on the top of Google, 
keeping that fresh in the minds and at the fingertips of anyone with an 
interest prurient or not.
You don't think that "harms" the remaining living family?
"Do no harm" is an unworkable phrase.
Calling Lee Majors last movie "trite" even with a source is harmful to 
his career I'm sure.



-Original Message-
From: Fred Bauder 
To: English Wikipedia 
Sent: Wed, Sep 9, 2009 2:24 pm
Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT 
reporter in Afghanistan










> We are supposed to be community-driven.
> Where is the community consensus on media blackouts?
> Link please.
>
> Will Johnson
>

Interesting, as there is a consensus. It just isn't written down. Do no
harm; any problem with that?

Fred


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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Thomas Dalton
2009/9/9 David Gerard :
>> BLP talks about removing unverifiable harmful information about living
>> people, it doesn't say verifiable harmful information should be
>> removed (unless it is given undue weight).
>
>
> That's the point - it's entirely in order to be very conservative in
> what's accepted as verification of such.

If you genuinely think the sources are unreliable, then fine, but I
don't believe that is the case. You are wikilawyering, pure and
simple. If you want to ignore the rules, that's fine, we explicitly
allow that, but be honest about it.

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Fred Bauder
> We are supposed to be community-driven.
> Where is the community consensus on media blackouts?
> Link please.
>
> Will Johnson
>

Interesting, as there is a consensus. It just isn't written down. Do no
harm; any problem with that?

Fred


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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread David Gerard
2009/9/9 Thomas Dalton :
> 2009/9/9  :

>> I really don't see this as IAR.
>> It seems the argument is that it's firmly BLP policy.  That for some
>> reason (inexplicable apparently), keeping the name of a kipnap victim
>> secret, helps them to not be killed.  Personally the argument seems
>> flat to me.  But at any rate, if we were to have a discussion on
>> finding consensus, I would expect it to revolve around BLP.

> BLP talks about removing unverifiable harmful information about living
> people, it doesn't say verifiable harmful information should be
> removed (unless it is given undue weight).


That's the point - it's entirely in order to be very conservative in
what's accepted as verification of such.


- d.

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Thomas Dalton
2009/9/9  :
> I really don't see this as IAR.
> It seems the argument is that it's firmly BLP policy.  That for some
> reason (inexplicable apparently), keeping the name of a kipnap victim
> secret, helps them to not be killed.  Personally the argument seems
> flat to me.  But at any rate, if we were to have a discussion on
> finding consensus, I would expect it to revolve around BLP.

BLP talks about removing unverifiable harmful information about living
people, it doesn't say verifiable harmful information should be
removed (unless it is given undue weight).

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread wjhonson
I really don't see this as IAR.
It seems the argument is that it's firmly BLP policy.  That for some 
reason (inexplicable apparently), keeping the name of a kipnap victim 
secret, helps them to not be killed.  Personally the argument seems 
flat to me.  But at any rate, if we were to have a discussion on 
finding consensus, I would expect it to revolve around BLP.



-Original Message-
From: Thomas Dalton 
To: fredb...@fairpoint.net; English Wikipedia 

Sent: Wed, Sep 9, 2009 12:22 pm
Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT 
reporter in Afghanistan










2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :
> Actually, no, that is a throw-away. But we do need to get a little
> smarter. We might have something come up that is a bit more serious.

More serious than life and death?

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread wjhonson
Investigative Journalism should go to WikiNews.
BTW does Wikinews have any traction yet?
I mean does it hit the first googly page ?


-Original Message-
From: David Gerard 
To: fredb...@fairpoint.net; English Wikipedia 

Sent: Wed, Sep 9, 2009 12:24 pm
Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT 
reporter in Afghanistan










2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :

> Actually, no, that is a throw-away. But we do need to get a little
> smarter. We might have something come up that is a bit more serious.


I think there's actually not much we need to do. The most recent case
was entirely covered by BLP: be extremely conservative about
potentially extremely harmful information.

We're an encyclopedia, not investigative journalism - we have wikinews
for that. If we wait a few days until we're absolutely sure and there
are really good and reliable sources, that's fine. Once it's all over
the media, it's not our problem; when it isn't, it shouldn't be in the
article.

People shouting "censorship!" have mistaken the encyclopedia for a
venue for investigative journalism.


- d.

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread wjhonson
We are supposed to be community-driven.
Where is the community consensus on media blackouts?
Link please.

Will Johnson



-Original Message-
From: Carcharoth 
To: English Wikipedia 
Sent: Wed, Sep 9, 2009 12:03 pm
Subject: Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT 
reporter in Afghanistan










On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 7:58 PM, Fred Bauder 
wrote:
>> 2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :
>>> Would you have us do different?
>>
>> I would prefer something more honest, rather than defaming innocent
>> editors trying to add true and verifiable information to articles. I
>> would suggest just protecting the article straight away with a link 
to
>> the OTRS ticket. Such a protection isn't any less subtle that the
>> current practice, I would argue it is more so.
>
> We need to do something that is both effective and does not attract
> attention. Like maybe deleting and protecting the article and 
redirecting
> it to the New York Times. And caste it as speedy delete for 
non-notable
> subject.

Well, posting a plan like that to a publicly archived mailing list is
a good start at not attracting attention.

Carcharoth

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread geni
2009/9/9 Jussi-Ville Heiskanen :
> I do agree that it is a bit more than a bit silly to expect
> wikipedia to not only surprise occasionally with scooping
> other more established news organizations, but in fact
> be there before all the other major news orgs with the
> full nitty gritty.

I don't. Plenty of stories where wikipedians are in a better position
to track the specialist publications where things break first.


> However the source of why critics of these two stories
> about suppression have focused on wikipedia, likely
> stems from the fact our articles edit histories are out
> there for most people to see, if they have a bit of savvy.

They haven't focused on wikipedia. At most we get a passing mention.
Probably more to do with conflict with our generally fairly anti
censorship position.

-- 
geni

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread geni
2009/9/9 David Gerard :
> 2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :
>
>> Actually, no, that is a throw-away. But we do need to get a little
>> smarter. We might have something come up that is a bit more serious.
>
>
> I think there's actually not much we need to do. The most recent case
> was entirely covered by BLP: be extremely conservative about
> potentially extremely harmful information.

BLP says no such thing.


> We're an encyclopedia, not investigative journalism - we have wikinews
> for that. If we wait a few days until we're absolutely sure and there
> are really good and reliable sources, that's fine. Once it's all over
> the media, it's not our problem; when it isn't, it shouldn't be in the
> article.

False. Wikipedia contains a lot of stuff that isn't "all over the
media". WP:V doesn't require anything close to that and for good
reason.

> People shouting "censorship!" have mistaken the encyclopedia for a
> venue for investigative journalism.

No. The investigative stuff had already been done. Thats why there
were three sources on the info (probably more around since no one had
got as far as digging up the afghan sources).



-- 
geni

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Jussi-Ville Heiskanen
Keith Old wrote:
> Folks,
> >From the Huffington Post:
>
> "Last November, David Rohde was kidnapped in Afghanistan and held for
> several months, before managing to escape with his interpreter. Media around
> the world, at the request of the *Times*, kept silent about the kidnapping,
> and later drew criticism for this from some quarters. It has just happened
> again -- with my magazine, *Editor & Publisher*, among those not writing
> about it -- in the case of another well-known *New York Times*reporter in
> Afghanistan, but for a much shorter period of time.
>
> Stephen Farrell, with his aide Sultan Munadi, were seized on Saturday and
> freed just hours ago in a daring raid by British commandos. Munadi and a
> commando were killed. Farrell is fine.
>
> I saw some indications that Farrell had been snatched in my regular Web
> searches for media scoops over the weekend. As in the case of Rohde, a
> handful of not prominent blogs, along with very scattered media abroad (in
> their original language) reported that something was up, but confirmation
> was slight, given the silence of the *Times* and U.S. military.
>
> This went on for two days, as I kept searching -- and finding that, once
> again, the media apparently were not rushing anything into print or online.
>
> Also, as in the case of Rohde, I noticed that Farrell's Wikipedia entry had
> been scrubbed -- some user kept trying to post the kidnapping and the "news"
> kept getting deleted, before the entry was put under "protected" status and
> the cat and mouse game stopped. You can see it in the "history" there along
> with complaints of this "censorship crap" occurring again. "
>
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/again-media-and-wikipedia_b_280233.html
>   
BTW, I think TFA is remarkably even handed about how it
describes what happened.

This doesn't surprise me personally since I have read Greg Mitchell's
book The Campaign of the Century, which I recommend strongly
for anyone who is interested in how it came to be that politics and
the media became to be so closely entwined, or anyone wanting to
just get an amazingly wide canvas snapshot of both the world at
large and California of 1934 vintage in particular. The book recounts
Upton Sinclair's attempt to run for governor of CA. Arguably that
year was epochal in the development of media-politics, as the
studios really took a unified stance to oppose that run.

In fact I wouldn't be surprised if Greg Mitchell didn't have to battle
with his own BLP issues when writing that book.

While I can't prove that Greg Mitchell knew of Robert A. Heinlein's
heavy involvement in the EPIC movement at that time, it would be
quite astonishing if he was not aware of it, considering he notes much
thinner connections to lesser Science Fiction authors and EPIC and
Sinclair. Heinlein was still alive at that time and very adamant that
his involvement with EPIC was not made explicitly public, at least in
his own writings. I can well imagine that Heinlein or his wife Ginny
might have asked Mitchell to with-hold mentioning Heinlein in his
book on "BLP grounds".


Yours,

Jussi-Ville Heiskanen



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Jussi-Ville Heiskanen
David Gerard wrote:
>
> I think there's actually not much we need to do. The most recent case
> was entirely covered by BLP: be extremely conservative about
> potentially extremely harmful information.
>
> We're an encyclopedia, not investigative journalism - we have wikinews
> for that. If we wait a few days until we're absolutely sure and there
> are really good and reliable sources, that's fine. Once it's all over
> the media, it's not our problem; when it isn't, it shouldn't be in the
> article.
>
> People shouting "censorship!" have mistaken the encyclopedia for a
> venue for investigative journalism.
>
>
>   

I do agree that it is a bit more than a bit silly to expect
wikipedia to not only surprise occasionally with scooping
other more established news organizations, but in fact
be there before all the other major news orgs with the
full nitty gritty.

However the source of why critics of these two stories
about suppression have focused on wikipedia, likely
stems from the fact our articles edit histories are out
there for most people to see, if they have a bit of savvy.

The story would almost certainly be different if most
major newsorganisations out there had a public
paper-trail of what decisions about which stories were
made in the newsrooms at which time, and who was
on which side about which story...



Yours,

Jussi-Ville Heiskanen


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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread David Gerard
2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :

> Actually, no, that is a throw-away. But we do need to get a little
> smarter. We might have something come up that is a bit more serious.


I think there's actually not much we need to do. The most recent case
was entirely covered by BLP: be extremely conservative about
potentially extremely harmful information.

We're an encyclopedia, not investigative journalism - we have wikinews
for that. If we wait a few days until we're absolutely sure and there
are really good and reliable sources, that's fine. Once it's all over
the media, it's not our problem; when it isn't, it shouldn't be in the
article.

People shouting "censorship!" have mistaken the encyclopedia for a
venue for investigative journalism.


- d.

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Thomas Dalton
2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :
> Actually, no, that is a throw-away. But we do need to get a little
> smarter. We might have something come up that is a bit more serious.

More serious than life and death?

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Fred Bauder
> On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 7:58 PM, Fred Bauder
> wrote:
>>> 2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :
 Would you have us do different?
>>>
>>> I would prefer something more honest, rather than defaming innocent
>>> editors trying to add true and verifiable information to articles. I
>>> would suggest just protecting the article straight away with a link to
>>> the OTRS ticket. Such a protection isn't any less subtle that the
>>> current practice, I would argue it is more so.
>>
>> We need to do something that is both effective and does not attract
>> attention. Like maybe deleting and protecting the article and
>> redirecting
>> it to the New York Times. And caste it as speedy delete for non-notable
>> subject.
>
> Well, posting a plan like that to a publicly archived mailing list is
> a good start at not attracting attention.
>
> Carcharoth

Actually, no, that is a throw-away. But we do need to get a little
smarter. We might have something come up that is a bit more serious.

Fred



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Thomas Dalton
2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :
>> 2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :
>>> Would you have us do different?
>>
>> I would prefer something more honest, rather than defaming innocent
>> editors trying to add true and verifiable information to articles. I
>> would suggest just protecting the article straight away with a link to
>> the OTRS ticket. Such a protection isn't any less subtle that the
>> current practice, I would argue it is more so.
>
> We need to do something that is both effective and does not attract
> attention. Like maybe deleting and protecting the article and redirecting
> it to the New York Times. And caste it as speedy delete for non-notable
> subject.

If you lie people aren't going to believe you and will fight you. That
is exactly what has happened in the two cases I know of. Edit wars and
deletion reviews attract attention. A quiet, but explicit,
implementation of IAR is not going to attract any more attention.

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Carcharoth
On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 7:58 PM, Fred Bauder wrote:
>> 2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :
>>> Would you have us do different?
>>
>> I would prefer something more honest, rather than defaming innocent
>> editors trying to add true and verifiable information to articles. I
>> would suggest just protecting the article straight away with a link to
>> the OTRS ticket. Such a protection isn't any less subtle that the
>> current practice, I would argue it is more so.
>
> We need to do something that is both effective and does not attract
> attention. Like maybe deleting and protecting the article and redirecting
> it to the New York Times. And caste it as speedy delete for non-notable
> subject.

Well, posting a plan like that to a publicly archived mailing list is
a good start at not attracting attention.

Carcharoth

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Fred Bauder
> 2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :
>> Would you have us do different?
>
> I would prefer something more honest, rather than defaming innocent
> editors trying to add true and verifiable information to articles. I
> would suggest just protecting the article straight away with a link to
> the OTRS ticket. Such a protection isn't any less subtle that the
> current practice, I would argue it is more so.

We need to do something that is both effective and does not attract
attention. Like maybe deleting and protecting the article and redirecting
it to the New York Times. And caste it as speedy delete for non-notable
subject.

Fred



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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Thomas Dalton
2009/9/9 Fred Bauder :
> Would you have us do different?

I would prefer something more honest, rather than defaming innocent
editors trying to add true and verifiable information to articles. I
would suggest just protecting the article straight away with a link to
the OTRS ticket. Such a protection isn't any less subtle that the
current practice, I would argue it is more so.

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Fred Bauder
Would you have us do different?

Fred

> Folks,
> From the Huffington Post:
>
> "Last November, David Rohde was kidnapped in Afghanistan and held for
> several months, before managing to escape with his interpreter. Media
> around
> the world, at the request of the *Times*, kept silent about the
> kidnapping,
> and later drew criticism for this from some quarters. It has just
> happened
> again -- with my magazine, *Editor & Publisher*, among those not writing
> about it -- in the case of another well-known *New York Times*reporter in
> Afghanistan, but for a much shorter period of time.
>
> Stephen Farrell, with his aide Sultan Munadi, were seized on Saturday and
> freed just hours ago in a daring raid by British commandos. Munadi and a
> commando were killed. Farrell is fine.
>
> I saw some indications that Farrell had been snatched in my regular Web
> searches for media scoops over the weekend. As in the case of Rohde, a
> handful of not prominent blogs, along with very scattered media abroad
> (in
> their original language) reported that something was up, but confirmation
> was slight, given the silence of the *Times* and U.S. military.
>
> This went on for two days, as I kept searching -- and finding that, once
> again, the media apparently were not rushing anything into print or
> online.
>
> Also, as in the case of Rohde, I noticed that Farrell's Wikipedia entry
> had
> been scrubbed -- some user kept trying to post the kidnapping and the
> "news"
> kept getting deleted, before the entry was put under "protected" status
> and
> the cat and mouse game stopped. You can see it in the "history" there
> along
> with complaints of this "censorship crap" occurring again. "
>
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/again-media-and-wikipedia_b_280233.html
>
> Given the lack of reliable sources, the removal of information on the
> kidnapping seems justified. His article is here.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Farrell_(journalist)
>
>
> Regards
>
>
> *Keith*
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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Nathan
The protection referenced an OTRS ticket
(https://ticket.wikimedia.org/otrs/index.pl?Action=AgentTicketZoom&TicketID=2009090610014951)
in the edit summary. I'd be interested to know more information on
that ticket, specifically if it was a request for protection from a
news organization.

I suppose when this happened before, and I argued in favor of it, I
didn't imagine it would become a regular occurrence.

Nathan

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Re: [WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread geni
2009/9/9 Keith Old :
> Given the lack of reliable sources, the removal of information on the
> kidnapping seems justified. His article is here.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Farrell_(journalist)
>

That would rather depend on what was at the
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20090905164708693C937284
link at the time it was added no?


-- 
geni

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[WikiEN-l] Another Media and Wikipedia blackout on NYT reporter in Afghanistan

2009-09-09 Thread Keith Old
Folks,
>From the Huffington Post:

"Last November, David Rohde was kidnapped in Afghanistan and held for
several months, before managing to escape with his interpreter. Media around
the world, at the request of the *Times*, kept silent about the kidnapping,
and later drew criticism for this from some quarters. It has just happened
again -- with my magazine, *Editor & Publisher*, among those not writing
about it -- in the case of another well-known *New York Times*reporter in
Afghanistan, but for a much shorter period of time.

Stephen Farrell, with his aide Sultan Munadi, were seized on Saturday and
freed just hours ago in a daring raid by British commandos. Munadi and a
commando were killed. Farrell is fine.

I saw some indications that Farrell had been snatched in my regular Web
searches for media scoops over the weekend. As in the case of Rohde, a
handful of not prominent blogs, along with very scattered media abroad (in
their original language) reported that something was up, but confirmation
was slight, given the silence of the *Times* and U.S. military.

This went on for two days, as I kept searching -- and finding that, once
again, the media apparently were not rushing anything into print or online.

Also, as in the case of Rohde, I noticed that Farrell's Wikipedia entry had
been scrubbed -- some user kept trying to post the kidnapping and the "news"
kept getting deleted, before the entry was put under "protected" status and
the cat and mouse game stopped. You can see it in the "history" there along
with complaints of this "censorship crap" occurring again. "

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/again-media-and-wikipedia_b_280233.html

Given the lack of reliable sources, the removal of information on the
kidnapping seems justified. His article is here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Farrell_(journalist)


Regards


*Keith*
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