This template was considered for deletion on 2020 October 17. The result of the discussion was "no consensus". |
The smiley face we're currently using in this template is adorable. And Im flattered that we have twice used a variant of the template using a face that I made. But it bothers me that this template might now be doing more harm than good. Children are active on all sorts of social media networks these days, and information that we suppress might well be available somewhere else. Here is a list of all recently edited user talk pages with this smiley face on. Because we use this smiley face for almost nothing else, this list is effectively a publically accessible directory of Wikipedia users under age 13, and in particular, users under 13 who've recently posted personally identifiable information. We've done our part by hiding this personal information on our site, but many of them will be easy to track down on other social media networks. Shouldnt we be worried?
As much as I love the yellow smiley face, I think it might be time to replace it with a much more common image, or with no image at all, so that it won't be easy for third parties to find these kids.
There is also a link to Wikipedia:Guidance for younger editors, though I feel this is of a much lesser importance, as we use it as part of a greeting for new users we are only guessing about. I am only interested in the suppression-related uses. Is it technologically possible for us to have no template at all, but rather an editnotice that only the user can see? You guys mostly know who I am, but I've lost my touch recently and may have forgotten even some things I knew five years ago.
I look forward to hearing any replies.
Thanks, — Soap — 18:54, 28 August 2020 (UTC)
This template was considered for deletion on 2020 October 17. The result of the discussion was "no consensus". |
The smiley face we're currently using in this template is adorable. And Im flattered that we have twice used a variant of the template using a face that I made. But it bothers me that this template might now be doing more harm than good. Children are active on all sorts of social media networks these days, and information that we suppress might well be available somewhere else. Here is a list of all recently edited user talk pages with this smiley face on. Because we use this smiley face for almost nothing else, this list is effectively a publically accessible directory of Wikipedia users under age 13, and in particular, users under 13 who've recently posted personally identifiable information. We've done our part by hiding this personal information on our site, but many of them will be easy to track down on other social media networks. Shouldnt we be worried?
As much as I love the yellow smiley face, I think it might be time to replace it with a much more common image, or with no image at all, so that it won't be easy for third parties to find these kids.
There is also a link to Wikipedia:Guidance for younger editors, though I feel this is of a much lesser importance, as we use it as part of a greeting for new users we are only guessing about. I am only interested in the suppression-related uses. Is it technologically possible for us to have no template at all, but rather an editnotice that only the user can see? You guys mostly know who I am, but I've lost my touch recently and may have forgotten even some things I knew five years ago.
I look forward to hearing any replies.
Thanks, — Soap — 18:54, 28 August 2020 (UTC)