Board Thread:Wiki Discussion/@comment-1370845-20141107202502/@comment-5365119-20141107230433

It's actually possible that removing the IRC record might create an even more intense atmosphere of mistrust than presented above. The reason for this is that, without the record, we would have to rely on hearsay in order to know what other people said, especially when it comes to badmouthing.

Let's remember that hearsay is secondhand––and in the worst cases––thirdhand information which has been taken far out of context and mutated by perception. Having a log of IRC clearly represents what was said in its native context, making it less likely that it will be misinterpreted. Furthermore, it makes people accountable for what they say.

Without a log, people can just deny that they said anything, and there's no foolproof way of knowing whether or not they actually did say anything. This, I believe, would create more situations of uncertainty and mistrust than if there was an IRC log, which is why I personally oppose this motion.