User talk:Spliffy/Squid

please note pepole are free to edit the letter for spelling grammer and other small edits, but i would prefer it if any major changes where proposed here first thanksBenon 23:42, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

I'm relatively new, I h ave no idea what this is about, and found the letter by browsing around to see how WP works. As an outsider, it strikes me that the list of proxies used by the vandal should go in an attachment to the letter, not the main body. And the letter should indicate what solution you suggest (you imply that they should block access to open proxies but don't say it). If I was a person at the library reading your letter who was not a network admin, I would be very confused. How could someone use the library computer at 11 pm? How could you know the identity of someone who was using proxy servers and prove it was the person you think it was? If the real issue is the library allows access to proxy servers, a letter pointing out the consequences (not just to WP) and the risk to the library might be better. This letter will probably get tossed to the IT department, so if you already tried to resolve things with them, this letter won't fo any good unless you copy it to other targeted persons. Is there a library board in Chicago, or a subcommittee of the aldermen that oversees the library? Whoever made the policy of no open proxies would be a good target for the letter. Just some suggestions from an outside. Thatcher131 06:36, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

ok first of all the chicago public libary is ope 24 hours a day, they scrub attackments off e-mails (for security reasons), and if we dont get any ind of input from the it department im fowarding a copy to the libranan in charge :) Benon 04:21, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

Defining "vandalism"
I think it would help clarify things for the CPL staff if we outline exactly why the Squid vandal's behaviour is unacceptable. The letter currently says:
 * Wikipedia is a wiki, whose main characteristic is that anyone can edit pages on it to improve them (see "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki" or for more information). After finding a huge number of articles...

Somewhere in there, after we say what a Wiki-pedia is, I think there should be a short sentence explaining that despite being open to all, Wikipedia does have stringent rules on appropriate content, and openly warns any users engaging in behaviour that is not productive, yada yada yada. Otherwise, I fear a response along the lines of "It wasn't really abusive behaviour, since your website allows and encourages any users to edit the content at their discretion." --P e ruvianLlama(spit) 06:18, 21 February 2006 (UTC)


 * Try that (now). 68.39.174.238 23:46, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

Definitely a step in the right direction. I've further modified, added to, and removed from, what you put up there, which was basically good. In particular, I removed the links to the NPOV and "Don't be a dick" policies/guidelines, because although they are relevant to us on the Wiki, I frankly don't think the CPL would be all that interested, and it adds a bit of visual "clutter" with all those URLs floating around. Comments and further edits welcome. --P e ruvianLlama(spit) 06:00, 22 February 2006 (UTC)


 * One more thought - would it be useful to have a tally for how many articles were hit, and how many edits in total were made in the attack? This might add a bit of weight to the whole email. Perhaps adding a sentence right before the list of proxies to the effect of "In the end, 50 articles were targeted by this attack, and a total of 500 nearly identical vandalism edits were made." Just a thought. --P e ruvianLlama(spit) 06:05, 22 February 2006 (UTC)


 * Not sure about the full infos. Anyone know? 68.39.174.238 23:06, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

What policy?
Right before the lists of IPs, there's this: "Your website mentions a policy explicitly banning users of your computers from accessing open proxies, ". Well... where on what website? I found a policy on use that says nothing about proxies. 68.39.174.238 23:34, 21 February 2006 (UTC) I seriously doubt any letters resolved anything, except good will and understanding.