Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2008-07-07/From the editor

This week, I'm able to publicly talk about an issue that has been bothering me for a few months; I know some users are at least aware of this situation, but I've been unable to talk much about it until now. In the interests of transparency, I'd like to fill everyone in.

In early May, we first prepared to write a story on a pending lawsuit against Wikimedia; that lawsuit was dismissed this week (see related story). Due to the nature of the case, I discussed the matter with Foundation staff; the response was something between a request and a demand that I not publish the story, due to legal concerns. After careful consideration, and discussion with friends and colleagues, I chose not to publish the story until after the case was decided.

Given the circumstances, I feel this was an unfortunate, but necessary, move. While the Signpost is fully independent from the Wikimedia Foundation in terms of content, we obviously are hosted on Foundation servers, and Signpost founder Michael Snow is currently a member of the Foundation's Board of Trustees. I felt that should an article published in the Signpost regarding this case be submitted in court, that the court might be unable to determine the extent of such independence, and it might have had a severe effect on the case.

I'm still rather troubled by the very nature of this situation, because it was the first time that I've felt pressured by the Wikimedia Foundation not to write or publish a story. This also leaves us with a dangerous precedent that I'm hoping only to keep in the most serious cases.

I apologize that I was not able to inform you on this case prior to its decision, and I hope that future cases do not require me to do the same.

I'd like to also solicit your views on this issue; feel free to discuss these concerns on the talk page.

Thanks for reading the Signpost.

— Ral315