Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/2006-08-28 Malaysia

Mediation Case: 2006-08-28 Malaysia
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Request Information

 * Request made by: Suisse2007 05:25, 28 August 2006 (UTC)


 * Where is the issue taking place?
 * ...On the article Malaysia


 * Who's involved?
 * ...Between the editors of the article & myself.


 * What's going on?
 * ...I made a request here a few days ago & was advised to try to resolve the matter & to reach a compromise. I tried that & the situation has reached a stalemate.

A couple of days ago I tried to add an external link to the article as I notice that all external links are from government sources. The link which I've tried to add is the WWW VL Malaysia, whch is part of the WWW VL Asian Studies project hosted by the Australian National University, which in turn is part of the World Wide Web Virtual Library. I was informed by the editors that the policies of Wikipedia stated that Wikipedia is not a dispository of links. I can understand that. However, the external links in the article Malaysia are government based. It does not provide independent sources of information. If the letter of the law is to be followed, then these government based external links are to be removed as well.

Independence & freedom of information is a pressing issue in Malaysia. For example, in the Asian tsunami tragedy in December 2004. Practically, no information was available from federal government sources in Malaysia although Malaysia was one of the countries affected by this tragedy. Investors, tourists & citizens alike have to obtain information from international news media e.g. BBC or CNN.

One of the policies of Wikipedia is that all articles must reflect neutrality in its publication. Having said that the WWW VL Malaysia has been part of the WWW VL Asian Studies project & the WWW VL at W3C for almost 8 years. The integrity of both the WWW VL & its editors have never been an issue before in the past. The neutrality of the article on Malaysia in its present state is questionable.

However, I've been told now the issue is because the WWW VL Malaysia shares a common root directory with a commercial website, therefore it's now deemed a commercial site!


 * ''What would you like to change about that?
 * ...That there should be a balanced set of external links, i.e. government based links along with independent & reliable links.


 * Would you prefer we work discreetly? If so, how can we reach you?
 * ...sure, my email address is: geneva21@gmail.com  Thanks.

Compromise offers
This section is for listing and discussing compromise offers.