QUOTE(One @ Wed 12th November 2008, 3:43am)
Incidentally, is this really important? I don't think there was a reason to out NYB, for example.
There's no way to know if it's important until after it's done. If Newyorkbrad had turned out to be, say, a twenty-two year old fantasist in Nebraska who was falsely claiming to be a Manhattan litigation attorney, then it would have been important. I'd say that learning that he
is exactly who he said he was was also important, in that it built confidence.
Likewise with Sam Blacketer. Suppose he turns out to be an agent of the British government? Or a international currency manipulator? Etc. Has anyone scrutinized his edits for a possible conflict of interest, and without knowing who he is, would we even know what to look for?
A failure to proactively vet candidates is what allows "Essjays" and "Poetlisters" to slip by. Assuming that there isn't a problem without having checked is bad management. Before we say, "How could we have let this happen again?" let's be clear: we are very actively letting it happen again when we attempt to pressure people like Tarantino out of investigating.
Truth is not the enemy.