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What to display in the web address field when we don't give a link
editThere is consensus that for at least some onion sites that we should not give a link to the site from the article. At Talk:The Hidden Wiki#Web address field in the infobox I have raised a question about what we should show in the infobox in place of a link in those cases, your views would be welcome there. Thryduulf (talk) 09:18, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
August 2013
editAt the time of writing, Tor Mail has stopped giving the "down for maintenance" message and simply does not load. No reliable source has said that going offline was linked to the arrest of the person allegedly behind Freedom Hosting, although given that a large number of .onion sites went offline at the same time [1] it does seem a remarkable coincidence. Also, there is no reliable sourcing that the FBI / NSA was responsible for the takedown, despite speculation in the blogs. I would not take bets on Tor Mail returning any time soon, but that is WP:CRYSTAL.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 07:53, 7 August 2013 (UTC)
Opening tense
editI noticed that the opening sentence is "Tor Mail is a Tor hidden service that went offline in August 2013", and that an editor changed it to "Tor Mail was a Tor hidden service that went offline in August 2013" (emphasis mine). This change was reverted citing MOS:COMPNOW, which states, "Always use present tense for verbs that describe genres, types and classes, even if the subject of the description (e.g. program, library, device) no longer exists, is discontinued or is unsupported/unmaintained".
I think that the opening sentence should be in the past tense still. Tor Mail was not a program or a library, but was a service. When a service stops being offered, it is not a service any longer. This is unlike a program; for example, Microsoft Windows 3.1 is still an OS, despite no longer being sold or supported. I believe this view is consistent with the spirit of MOS:COMPNOW. Category:Defunct websites has similar examples of discontinued services, with the opening sentence in the past tense.
Pinging involved editors: User:Ianmacm, User:Breadtk.
--Joshua Issac (talk) 16:23, 4 January 2015 (UTC)
- This also happened at Lavabit. The article could say something like "Tor Mail is a former hidden service that went offline in August 2013."--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 16:29, 4 January 2015 (UTC)
I personally think of Tor Mail as a defunct service, thus my change of opening tense. Though I would be happy with User:Ianmacm's compromise. I think the opening could be something like "Tor Mail is a former Tor hidden service that went offline in August 2013 after an FBI raid on Freedom Hosting[1]." Thoughts? (cc User:Joshua Issac User:ianmacm) Breadtk (talk) 19:23, 6 January 2015 (UTC)
- This is OK, added to article.--♦IanMacM♦ (talk to me) 06:35, 7 January 2015 (UTC)
- Great. --Joshua Issac (talk) 15:40, 8 January 2015 (UTC)