Response by MCB to correspondence from Kathy Golik, 2006-7-12:
From: (email address redacted) Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2006 3:29 PM To: Kathy Golik (email address redacted) Subject: Re: Wikipedia entry edit for "Laura Branigan"
Dear Ms. Golik:
Thank you for your message, however, I would prefer that all communications regarding Wikipedia edits and policy be made on Wikipedia via article Talk pages or my Talk page, so that they can be seen and commented on by the Wikipedia community as a whole, as is our custom.
As a long-time Wikipedia editor, my personal judgment was that the web site controversy was too minor and only of interest to a small number of people. Wikipedia is an international encyclopedia read by millions, and we try to focus on material that is of wide public note and interest. I'm not sure that a dispute between two competing web sites as to which is the "official" site of a deceased entertainer meets that criterion (as the other material in the section, a long and lurid description of events supposedly connected with the video for one of Branigan's songs certainly did not).
In any case, if the domain name dispute is to be mentioned, it must be done in a strictly neutral point of view (NPOV) manner. That is one of Wikipedia's most important policies, and it is not modifiable or negotiable. Wikipedia does not take sides in disputes; our policy requires that we report neutrally and factually on disputes. When the web site and domain name dispute is decided or settled, and reported in a reliable third-party media source, then it is appropriate to add that to the article as well. I have edited the section to reflect that.
In addition, when you edit Wikipedia, please register a user name so that your edits can be identified with you and any outside interest (such as your association with the article's subject) is disclosed and may be assessed by other editors (or mediators and arbitrators if necessary). Wikipedia discourages edits by article subjects or those who represent them or are associated with them, for obvious reasons of neutrality, bias, and objectivity.
Best regards, -- Michael C. Berch (User:MCB)