Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2005-10-24/Checkuser controversy

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Checkuser proposal causes controversy

By Ral315, 24 October 2005

A controversial proposal to allow users to apply for Checkuser abilities, similar to adminship, was implemented last week, then quickly removed.

After a straw poll on whether to start a new "Requests for Checkuser" process ended with just over 80% of voters in favor of the proposal, Fvw and Andrevan applied for Checkuser rights. After a series of support votes for both users, many started to weigh in on the legal and moral ramifications of allowing such users to view other users' IP addresses. Some reiterated they only supported the initial proposal assuming further policy was going to be created before implementation. Others questioned the timing of the requests, just hours after the 7-day poll lapsed.

Seeing these worries, Raul654 removed both requests within a few hours of their posting, requesting that users take it to the talk page. Raul654 said, "Checkuser access is governed by the foundation privacy policy, the application of which has still not been decided. It is inappropriate to be holding votes on it (checkuser access) before Jimbo and/or the board have made any decisions regarding access." He also noted that Anthere was working on a proposal to allow Arbitration Committee members on different wikis to appoint one or more of their group as a designated party to use the checkuser rights. On the mailing list, Kelly Martin said "The notion that consensus *alone* can determine who is entitled to checkuser rights is laughable."

Also this week: Answers.com — ArbCom election — ArbCom update — China block — Checkuser — Www Redirects — Quality concerns — Wikimania — Esperanza election — News and notes — Press coverage — Features and admins — T.R.O.L.L.