Wikipedia:Update/1/Enforcement policy changes, 2011


 * Administrators
 * In WP:ADMIN, added: "Given the lengthy procedures required to remove administrative access, often including a request for comments followed by a arbitration, requests for adminship are carefully vetted."


 * Banning policy
 * Substantial changes since September


 * Blocking policy
 * Substantial changes since September


 * Protection policy
 * In WP:PROTECT, removed "Requests can be submitted at Requests for page protection."
 * New subsection: WP:PROTECT
 * In WP:PROTECT, changed: "A page and its talk page should not both be protected at the same time." to: "If the page in question and its talk page are both protected please make your edit request at Request for edit instead."
 * In WP:PROTECT, added: "Should generally not be applied directly to templates, as it will not protect transclusions inside tags or transclusions that depend on template parameters, but will protect the template's documentation subpage. See the "Templates" section below for alternatives."
 * WP:PROTECT was substantially expanded.


 * Vandalism
 * New section: WP:Vandalism


 * Administrators
 * Substantial changes throughout since June


 * Banning policy
 * In WP:BAN, added: [forbidden from making any edit ...] "under any and all circumstances, with no exceptions."
 * Substantial changes to WP:BAN


 * Blocking policy
 * In WP:BLOCK, removed: "That is, blocking is a serious matter, and administrators should avoid imposing blocks that are unlikely to be preventative in the reviewable circumstances."
 * New section: WP:BLOCK
 * In WP:BLOCK, added: "Block log annotation may be used to provide relevant information for administrators using Special:Block. A block log annotation page in the format User:Example/Blocklogannotation will be transcluded automatically at Special:Block/Example (i.e. the "Block user" link on User:Example). Block log annotation pages should only be used to provide information and note relevant community consensus, not to record personal views."
 * In WP:BLOCK, removed: [Unblocking will almost never be acceptable] "to facilitate editing via an open proxy or other kinds of account abuse"
 * Removed section: WP:BLOCK
 * In WP:BLOCK, changed: [accounts used] "primarily" [for disruption may be blocked indefinitely without warning] to: "exclusively".


 * Protection policy
 * In WP:PROTECT, added: "If the page in question and its talk page are both protected please make your edit request at Request for edit instead." Added: [Semi-protection should not be used] "to privilege registered users over unregistered users in content disputes."


 * Sock puppetry
 * In WP:SOCK, added: [An editor might use an alternative account] "to segregate functions such as work with specific kinds of media files, so as to maintain a user talk page dedicated to the purpose."


 * Username policy
 * In WP:U, removed: [unless your account is an approved bot, your name should not] "end with "bot",".
 * In WP:U, changed: "you should generally avoid editing articles with which you may have a conflict of interest" to: "our conflict of interest guideline advises all users to exercise caution if editing articles about businesses, organizations, products, or other subjects that they are closely connected to."


 * Vandalism
 * New subsection: WP:VAN
 * In WP:VAN, changed: "Adding or continuing to add external links to non-notable or irrelevant sites (e.g. to advertise one's website) to pages after having been warned is vandalism, or sites that have some relationship to the subject matter, but advertise or promote in the user's interest, or text that promotes one's personal interests." to: "Adding or continuing to add spam external links is vandalism if the activity continues after a warning. A spam external link is one added to a page mainly for the purpose of promoting a website, product or a user's interests rather than to improve the page editorially."


 * Administrators
 * In WP:ADMIN, added: [Administrators who stepped down in good standing (that is, not in controversial circumstances) may request their administrator status be restored at any time by a bureaucrat, ] "provided the bureaucrat is satisfied that the account's security has not been compromised in the meantime."


 * Banning policy
 * In WP:BAN, previous content shortened to: "Administrators are authorised with regards to a small number of topic areas to apply sanctions to an editor whose conduct is problematic. This provision is called discretionary sanctions, and is described in detail at Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions."
 * In WP:BAN, removed: "Historically, when an editor is banned by the Arbitration Committee as a result of a "normal" Arbitration case, a duration of one year has been the most serious level of ban that will be given. The Committee's logic is that if reban or extension becomes necessary because the problem has not ceased, then the community will probably be able to deal with it by consensus."


 * Bot policy
 * In WP:BOTPOL changed "Spell-checking" section into expanded WP:BOTPOL section, advising "Unsupervised bot processes should not make context-sensitive changes that would normally require human attention ... " with an exception for community consensus or demonstration of no false positives. The section also lists several common examples.
 * In WP:BOTPOL added "Changing HTML entities to Unicode characters whenever the Unicode character might be difficult to identify visually in edit-mode."
 * Added "The same restriction is applied to mass category creation, where those categories are visible in the article space (not including hidden maintenance categories)." to "Mass article creation" section and subsequently renamed to "WP:BOTPOL".


 * Harassment
 * In WP:Harassment, added: [Many users track other users' edits, although usually for collegial or administrative purposes.] "This should always be done carefully, and with good cause, to avoid raising the suspicion that an editor's contributions are being followed to cause them distress, or out of revenge for a perceived slight."
 * In WP:Harassment, made substantial changes.


 * Protection policy
 * In WP:PROTECT, added: "When move protection is applied during a requested move discussion the page should be protected at the location it was at when the move request was started."
 * In WP:PROTECT, added: [Files are indefinitely move-protected,] "though file movers and administrators may still move them."
 * In WP:PROTECT, changed: "User pages and subpages are protected at the user's request if there is evidence of vandalism or disruption." to: "User pages and subpages are sometimes protected at the user's request, or if there is evidence of vandalism or disruption."
 * In WP:PROTECT, changed: [the talk page may be protected for a short time to prevent abusive editing.] "When required, it should be implemented for a brief period which should not exceed the length of the block or six months, whichever is shorter." to: "When required, it should be implemented for a brief period which should not exceed the length of the block, whichever is shorter. Consider disabling the user's talk page access via the block feature instead. In cases where the user has been blocked indefinitely, they should be informed of off-wiki ways to appeal their block, such as the unblock-en-l mailing list or ban appeals subcommittee of the Arbitration Committee."


 * Sock puppetry
 * In WP:SOCK, added: [Links should ideally take the form of] "all three of the following:"


 * Username policy
 * In WP:U, added: [nor should it be easily misunderstood to refer to a "bot"] "or a "script", both of which allude to automated editing processes."
 * In WP:U, added: "Keep in mind that context is important. A word that may seem offensive in one context may have another, more benign meaning in another context. In most cases there is no rote formula for how to determine if a username is a violation or not, use common sense and remember that blocking a new user is not actually something we want to do, it is something we do when it is needed to protect Wikipedia from harm."
 * In WP:U, added: "... "Userboxes/Wikipedia/Related accounts" contains a selection of user boxes provided to identity clearly legitimate alternative accounts."


 * Vandalism
 * In the introduction, added: "Mislabelling good-faith edits as vandalism can be considered harmful."
 * In WP:VANDAL, added: "The article size, as given in bytes, usually increases slightly with time, while a sudden large decrease may indicate a section blanking."


 * Administrators
 * In WP:ADMIN, added: [... important, merely "being an administrator" should not be.] "Whether this description remains accurate—eight years after it was first stated—is a matter of continuing debate. Nonetheless, it is still a useful adage."
 * In WP:ADMIN, added: [Only one account of a given person may have administrative tools.] "The only exceptions are bots with administrative access. See WP:ADMINSOCK."
 * In the new subsection WP:ADMIN, added: [... administrative abilities.] "Occasional lapses are accepted but serious or repeated lapses may not always be."
 * In WP:ADMINS, changed: [... an administrator who has interacted with an editor or] "article" [purely in an administrative role ... is not involved] to: "topic area"
 * In WP:ADMINS, added: "... or dialog fails," [then the following steps are available.]
 * In WP:ADMINS, added: [However, if the matter is serious enough, the Arbitration Committee may intervene without a request for comment on administrator conduct] "or other steps."


 * Blocking policy
 * In WP:BLOCK, removed each "persistent" from: "A block for disruption may be necessary in response to ... persistent vandalism; ... persistent gross incivility; ... persistent harassment; ... persistent spamming; ..."
 * In WP:BLOCK, the focus was changed from WP:Right to vanish to WP:Clean start. Added: "consider" [adding short blocks].
 * In WP:BLOCK, removed: "Bureaucrats occasionally make an exception to provide a link to the prior block log of a user who has undergone a username change."


 * Harassment
 * In the introduction, added: "Harassment can also include actions calculated to be noticed by the target and clearly suggestive of targeting them, where no direct communication takes place."
 * In WP:Harassment, added: [Harassment, threats,] "intimidation," [repeated annoying and unwanted contact] "or attention," [and repeated personal attacks may reduce an editor's enjoyment of Wikipedia and thus cause disruption to the project.]
 * In WP:Harassment, added: "The fact that a person either has posted personal information or edits under their own name, making them easily identifiable through online searches, is not an excuse for "opposition research." Dredging up their off line opinions to be used to constantly challenge their edits can be a form of harassment, just as doing so regarding their past edits on other Wikipedia articles may be. However, once individuals have identified themselves, such information can be used for discussions of conflict of interest in appropriate forums."
 * In WP:Harassment, added: "Administrators are volunteer editors like any other user. They are not obligated any more than any other user, to take any specific action beyond expected good conduct and responsiveness ..."


 * Protection policy
 * In WP:PROTECT, added: [administrators may apply temporary semi-protection on pages that are: ...] "Subject to vandalism or edit-warring where unregistered editors are engaging in IP-hopping by using different computers, obtaining new addresses by using dynamic ip allocation, or other address changing schemes such as IP address spoofing."
 * In WP:PROTECT, changed existing text to: "The trial is now over."


 * Sock puppetry
 * In WP:SOCK, added: "Humor accounts: The community has tolerated humorous alternate accounts such as User:Bishzilla, User:Bishapod, User:Darwinbish, User:Darwinfish, and sometimes User:Ka of Catherine de Burgh."
 * In WP:SOCK, added: "or  if the account is being used to maintain security on public computers."
 * Substantial changes to WP:SOCK


 * Username policy
 * In WP:U, changed: "Do not edit under the name of a well-known living person unless it is your real name, and you either are that well-known person or you make it clear that you are not. Such usernames may be blocked as a precaution." to: "Do not register a username that includes the name of an identifiable living person unless it is your real name. This includes implying a relationship with another person. If you share a name with a well-known person, you need to make it clear that you are not the well-known person of that name. Such usernames may be blocked as a precaution, until proof of identity is provided."
 * Substantial changes to WP:U
 * In WP:U, added: "One should not chose a username that implies a relationship with an existing editor (unless the account is actually owned or the relationship is acknowledged by the editor themselves)."
 * New subsection: WP:U


 * Vandalism
 * In the introduction, added: "While editors are encouraged to warn and educate vandals, warnings are by no means necessary for an administrator to block."
 * In WP:Vandalism, added: "Impersonating other users by signing an edit with a different username or IP address also constitutes sneaky vandalism, but take care not to confuse this with appropriately correcting an unsigned edit made by another user."


 * Enforcement policy changes, July 2010 to December 2010
 * Enforcement policy changes, January 2010 to June 2010
 * Enforcement policy changes, July 2009 to December 2009
 * Enforcement policy changes, December 2008 to June 2009