User:Purodha/Maintaining privacy in an open community project.

This is an incomplete draft

Abstract: The wish or need has been expressed, to maintain privacy or confidentiality at least over certain periods of time and regarding certain matters, even though these matters belong to an open project, where a large self-appointed community is responsible, should be informed, and the rule is to discuss and document everything in public.

Following an analysis of the valid demand, an already existing successful model of dealing with it is described and its adaption to the wikimedia context is suggested.

Comments and Suggestions to this text, or to the author, should go to the talk page, pointers to pages using or referring to this text welcome, likewise to related content.

Details:

Maintaining privacy in an open community project.

Attending an open public meeting on IRC 2006-09-03 20:31 UTC, I read NullC asking Erik_Zachte: "can you tell us how to make something open to *only* the active community? If you can solve that you would revolutionize policy making".

Imho there is a solution. There is even a real working example since more than seven years now (in 2006). If you read german, go to http://www.hostsharing.net/ and read about their internal and public communications, forum, etc.

The problems

Who is having problems?

As we hear, the problems are on either side. Usually individuals are having, or at least reporting, them, not so much groups. But since individuals are spokespersons for groups, sometimes they are related to groups, internal and external group dynamics, media behavious, public opinion, and the like.

What problems?

1. Who is in charge?
2. How reliable is ...
3. We do not want ... in public, since ... is watching us.

Analysis

There need to be (roughly) four levels of confidentiality,

1. Public.
2. Finished negotiation.
3. Ongoing negotiation.
4. Contact making and initiating negotiation.

Solutions

... later ...

-- Purodha Blissenbach 01:27, 4 September 2006 (UTC)