Undisclosed paid promotional editing is one of the biggest risks we face not only to the quality of our content but to our reputation. We need to do a more to address it.
No company editing Wikipedia for pay should be allowed to use the Wikipedia logo or name IMO. I am not sure how much the law allows us to enforce though. Is "wikipediawriters" a trademark infringement? James On Sat, Jan 7, 2017 at 4:58 PM, Jytdog at Wikipedia <[email protected]> wrote: > Just want to note that in my OP I had linked to an ANI thread (now archived > here > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/ > IncidentArchive942#Earflaps>) > about the discovery of a long term paid editor; the same editors who found > that, have found another -- this time the editor had 70K edits on en-wiki. > ANI thread is here > <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia: > Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents&oldid=758846199# > Proposal_to_ban_FoCuSandLeArN_due_to_undisclosed_paid_editing>. > They edited on behalf of Banc de Binary, Alcoa, and some other big > players. It appears that this editor worked for wikipediawriters.com. > > Is WMF in discussions with that company, and companies like it, with regard > to following the ToU? If not, why not? > > What if WMF started a list similar to Beall's list of Predatory Publishers, > of companies that advertise editing WP for pay for which there is no > evidence of them complying with the ToU? It would also be useful to list > editors associated with the companies who have been blocked or banned by > one or more WP communities (this would take some delicate work). Beside > this sort of public list (which people who want to hire paid editors would > probably appreciate being able to check), such companies could also be sent > a letter informing them of the ToU and telling them to stop using the WP > name until they start complying with the ToU - including the > blocking/banning policies - and you could link that letter in the list. > > There are things the WMF could be doing that the community cannot. > > > On Sat, Jan 7, 2017 at 3:31 PM, Jytdog at Wikipedia <[email protected] > > > wrote: > > > Thanks for your note, Jacob. > > > > It is great to know that WMF is happy to help with specific on-Wiki > > issues, working from the ground up, as it were. Yes members of the > > community are constantly playing whack-a-mole to deal with specific > > incidents. > > > > The reason I asked the original question, is that from the point of view > > of myself and some other editors, the WMF could do a lot to address paid > > editing by acting where *only* it can - from the top down. Namely, > > taking efforts to prevent companies from using the Wikipedia name to > > advertise services that are performed in violation of the Terms of Use. > > That would go for both companies that provide editing services and > > companies that allow freelancers to connect with customers. > > > > With those companies freely (and often mockingly) advertising their > > services, the spigot is opened wide - they constantly get more customers > > and send people here to edit. I would like to know if legal is > > authorized to take action to cut that flow off from the top. To close > the > > spigot. > > > > If legal is not authorized to take such action, I would like to know why. > > Is it that the board and management have not talked through this, or that > > they have talked through and decided not to do it? > > > > Thanks. > > > > > > > > On Sat, Jan 7, 2017 at 12:41 AM, Jacob Rogers <[email protected]> > > wrote: > > > >> Hi all, > >> > >> I want to share a few thoughts on the paid editing issue. First of all, > we > >> do have the ability to enforce our terms of use. If there are cases > where > >> you're encountering a severe problem with paid editing and community > >> efforts are not able to solve it, please get in touch with us via > >> [email protected] and we can discuss how we can provide support > >> depending > >> on the details of the case. With apologies, I'm not able to discuss > >> details > >> of any specific cases here because we don't want to reveal information > >> about ongoing or future investigations or legal actions. > >> > >> In general, I do want to say a few words about the role of legal tools > in > >> these kinds of cases. Legal actions are a blunt instrument: courts use > the > >> same solutions to every problem, and have not kept up with the speed of > >> modern technology. So we are interested in helping to improve community > >> systems and technological tools (like tools to help admins investigate > and > >> block problematic users) that can make it so that legal action isn't > >> necessary in many cases. > >> > >> I also want to note that we've been working on a longer statement > >> outlining > >> some of our thoughts about our role in dealing with paid editing > concerns > >> and some ways the communities can effectively approach these issues as > >> well. We plan to post this on-wiki soon. > >> > >> Lastly, let me say thank you to all the community members who help out > >> with > >> these issues. We really appreciate everyone who reports cases to us and > >> helps us take action where we are able, such as reporting some job > >> postings > >> on third-party sites. > >> > >> Best, > >> Jacob Rogers > >> > >> -- > >> > >> Jacob Rogers > >> Legal Counsel > >> Wikimedia Foundation > >> > >> NOTICE: This message might have confidential or legally privileged > >> information in it. If you have received this message by accident, please > >> delete it and let us know about the mistake. As an attorney for the > >> Wikimedia Foundation, for legal/ethical reasons I cannot give legal > advice > >> to, or serve as a lawyer for, community members, volunteers, or staff > >> members in their personal capacity. For more on what this means, please > >> see > >> our legal disclaimer > >> <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Legal_Disclaimer>. > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wik > >> i/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > >> New messages to: [email protected] > >> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > >> <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines > New messages to: [email protected] > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe> > -- James Heilman MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian The Wikipedia Open Textbook of Medicine www.opentextbookofmedicine.com _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines New messages to: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe>
