Editing other members work without first giving a heads up
Several of my posts have been edited by a member named Catfightfan without first contacting me, the originator of the file. For example, this member has gone into edit mode on Fighting Nurse and erased her birth state of New Jersey. I would hardly call listing a state as possible doxing. I used her ring name only and again, identified the state she was from. Catfight an has done similar edits to other files I have set up. Firstly, I do not agree with the edit. Second, how about reaching out to me? Professional curtesy?
Hi Bob, I think what Catfightfan has been doing is responding to a request/instruction issued by our site administrator Zweig AKA Naji. It reads as posted below:-
Hi, Wiki,
In order to maintain the legality of the wiki we need to remove all personal information from wrestler pages. I'm unsure at which point they started slipping in, but I take all the blame for being distant from the project.
No real names
This one is the most crucial. Unless the wrestler actively uses their real name, these need to be removed. I have removed what I could find via a quick search. Please find and remove what's left.
No date of birth
The dates of birth need to be removed. Year is fine. So, we keep this line in the infobox:
| birth_date = 1977
No place of birth
The birth place line needs to go from the infobox if present.
No other personal information
I found a page which says the city that the wrestler currently lives in and what kind of family they have. This can't be.
So although they may be slightly irritating the changes are in accordance with a directive and aren't intended to undermine anybody's work.
This is my take on things, I'm sure Catfightfan can answer for himself if he has anything to add.
Regards, JQ
Thanks for the response. I am curious now as to why the templates include this information in the first place. I have constructed about a half dozen pages for this site. In doing so I have never posted any info that could result in a privacy violation or “dox” a wrestler. The edits have felt a bit like nit picking. Listing a state of birth, year/month of birth, or a first name that already exists on other video sites in the bio section does not measure up to a legal violation. Taking it upon yourself to edit another members work without the benefit of first contacting the member is presumptuous. It borders on ludicrous when the page edited regards a wrestler who has passed away. Thanks again for reaching out. If you’ve any more thoughts on the matter please let me know. Best regards.
I guess the answer is that in 2012, when the Wiki was started up, the way in which the templates were set up did not seem to be remotely controversial. But in the intervening years attitudes have changed and privacy of information has become a hot topic, with the site administrator coming under pressure from individuals unhappy about what details are in the public domain. Therefore he has had to enforce some stronger guidelines - obviously when you impose universal rules there will be a number of examples where they make no sense, but allowing individual variations wouldn't be feasible. The other thing to remember is that for the first six years or more there were only about 300 wrestler profiles on view as against the 2600+ which are now present. As for the general question of editing an entrant created by another member, it has always been permissible to do this - say to add new match details or new photos - without consulting the originator. If you find that you disagree with the alteration then equally you have the right to reverse the change, which is what I've done on more than one occasion. Hope these thoughts are useful, and please continue to contribute!
Hi Bob I can understand that request when the fighter is alive, but for a dead person it seems unduly prohibitive. I have just reversed a Catfightfan's changes to Nadege's page about her details, but she died some years ago and the details in her intro were obviously contributed by somebody who knows her well. Merlin
I've done this to several other dead wrestlers aswell. If we manage it like that these changes would need to be reversed too.
I reversed the change you did to Nadege out of respect for the person who originally wrote the introduction to the page who was a friend of Nadege. Deleting the details is like deleting parts of an obituary!
Completely agree with your point regarding wrestlers who have passed. As I understood Zweig's original request he was concerned that wrestlers/ex-wrestlers might feel their privacy could be infringed, or that the information shown may now be embarrassing to them. But in no way could this be said to apply to people who have died unless the details were totally inaccurate or deliberately misleading in the first place. Don't see it's a big deal to reverse whatever changes have already been made - there can't be a large number of deceased wrestlers involved.
I can understand Zweig being cautious about allowing personal details of fighters, although other sites such at IMDB and IAFD have no such concerns. But I definitely will undo any future deletions I see with deceased fighters. Kelli Thomas is one that springs to mind who died some years ago and all her details have been amended.
