User:JoshuaZ/Thoughts on BLP
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A few thoughts on WP:BLP with little attempt at good organization.
Currently, Wikipedia is experiencing the deletion of articles and removal of content based on the general ethical and moral notions behind BLP. There has now been an RfAr over this issue here. Few editors disagree that there are cases where this should occur even when content is reliably sourced. The issue that seems to be of the most concern is that these deletions are occurring out of process and individuals are being blocked for them. Additionally, admins involved in editing the articles are using their admin tools to block users with whom they disagree.
To be more explicit here are some definitions: A simple BLP violation issue is a violation of BLP that involves unsourced or poorly sourced potentially negative content. A penumbra BLP issue is one in which there is some question based on the general ethics of BLP whether we should include the information.
Observations:
- Simple BLP violations are clear cut. None of the recent discussion and disagreement has been about simple BLP observations, but about penumbra issues.
- Penumbra issues are inherently subjective. There appears to be a continuum with Kent Hovind (notable but almost everything notable is extremely negative), Daniel Brandt, Star wars kid, Seth Finkelstein, and others such as Allison Stokke. Indeed, it isn't even clear who goes in what order on the continuum.
- The current status is that admins can delete without regards to process if they believe there is a penumbra BLP issue and this makes no distinction between penumbra and simple BLP issues. This gives admins much more authority than they originally had where admins are supposed to be merely glorified janitor who act according to community consensus.
- Lack of distinction between penumbra BLP and simple BLP issues can make people take simple BLP issues less seriously than they should.
Conclusions from the above: When dealing with penumbra issues, process should be followed so that we can reach a genuine consensus in the community about whether someone's notability overrides the possible negative nature of their notability, and whether privacy concerns trump various WP policies and guidelines.