Wikipedia:Update/3

Conduct policy changes - December 2009

Applicable policies
Current conduct policy pages, updated February 7, 2010:


 * Civility
 * Consensus
 * Edit warring
 * Editing policy
 * No personal attacks
 * Ownership of articles


 * December 2009
 * as of 14:00, 21 December 2009 (UTC)

Civility

 * New subsection, WP:Civility
 * December 21 through December 30: no notable changes, link fixes only

Editing policy

 * In WP:EDIT, changed [... Wikipedia's reputation as a trusted encyclopaedia depends on the information within articles being] "accurate" to "verifiable and reliable"
 * In WP:EDIT, added: "This principle is not as broadly endorsed for biographies of living persons. While such articles are also allowed and expected to be imperfect, any unsubstantiated or patently biased information in such articles should be removed until verified or rewritten in a neutral manner."
 * December 21, 2009 through December 30: no notable changes, link to talk page guidelines added for reference.

No personal attacks

 * New section, WP:NPA
 * December 21, 2009 through December 30: no changes.

Ownership of articles

 * Removed section, WP:OWN: "There are two common types of ownership conflicts between users: those involving primary editors and those involving multiple editors. Another type of ownership dispute that involves admins is discussed at Wheel war."
 * December 21 - 30, 2009: No major changes

Username policy

 * In WP:U, added: [Usernames that are very similar to existing ones can only be created by administrators ] "and Account Creators;"
 * December 21 - 30 2009: Tip and link on Doppelganger_account added

Sock puppetry

 * In WP:SOCK, changed: "Alternate" [accounts should not edit policies ...] to: "Undisclosed alternative"
 * December 19 - 30 2009:
 * Expansion on the Good hand, Bad Hand link and concept.
 * Some copyediting and clarification of the "Clean start under a new name" (WP:CLEANSTART)


 * Civility
 * In the nutshell, removed: "This policy is not a weapon to use against other contributors."
 * In WP:CIVIL, added: [ harassment,] "including Wikihounding, personal or legal threats, posting of personal information, repeated email or user space postings;"


 * Ownership of articles
 * New sections, WP:OWN and WP:OWN


 * Sock puppetry
 * In the introduction, added: [A second account] "used deceptively" [in violation of this policy is known as a sock puppet.] Removed: Do not bias discussions by asking for supporters from other places (meatpuppetry).  Removed: Do not act as a meat puppet for somebody else.
 * In WP:SOCK, added: [Editors may not use more than one account to contribute to the same page or discussion] "in a way to suggest that they are multiple people. Contributions to the same page with legitimate alternate accounts is not forbidden (e.g. editing the same page with your main and public computer account or editing a page using your main account that your bot account edited)." Made minor changes under the WP:ADMINSOCK shortcut.  Also, changed:
 * Role accounts: Role accounts&mdash;accounts used by multiple people&mdash;are likely to be blocked. The Wikimedia Foundation and Board of Trustees reserve the right to use role accounts where necessary.
 * to:
 * Role accounts: Because an account represents your edits as an individual, "role accounts" &mdash; accounts shared by multiple people&mdash;are as a rule forbidden and blocked. If you edit for an organization please see username policy guidance. The sole exceptions are non-editing accounts providing email access to major internal mailing lists and accounts approved by the Wikimedia Foundation (list below), and approved bots with multiple managers. See Username policy#Sharing accounts.
 * Also added:
 * Note that editing under multiple IP addresses, without registering, can be treated the same as editing under multiple accounts where it is done deceptively or otherwise violates the above principles. Registered users who edit without logging in are treated the same as if the IP was an alternate account. (Where editors log out by mistake, they may wish to contact an administrator or an editor with oversight access in order to ensure that there is not a misunderstanding.)


 * In WP:SOCK, made minor changes under the WP:CLEANSTART shortcut
 * New section, WP:SOCK


 * Username policy
 * New subsection, WP:U: "Usernames for Administrator Attention is a noticeboard for dealing with severe violations of the username policy quickly. See Usernames for administrator attention/Listing instructions for information on how to place or resolve UAA reports, including the options that are available to administrators."
 * In WP:U, added: "If you edit for a group or organization please still use a non-shared name for your editing. A name such as "User:Megawatt Inc., (John)" may be appropriate."


 * Civility
 * Added to the introduction: "In general, be understanding and non-retaliatory in dealing with incivility. If others are uncivil, be understanding (people do say things when they get upset) rather than judgemental, and do not respond in kind. If necessary, point out gently that you think the comment might be considered uncivil, and make it clear that you want to move on and focus on the content issue. Bear in mind that the editor may not have considered it uncivil - Wikipedia is edited by people from many different backgrounds, and standards vary. Consider too the option of ignoring isolated examples of incivility, and simply moving forward with the content issue. Only take things to dispute resolution (see below) if there is an ongoing problem you can't resolve."
 * New subsection, WP:CIVIL
 * Moved WP:CIVIL up
 * In WP:CIVIL, changed: "If some action is necessary, first consider discussing it on that user's talk page." to:
 * In escalating order of seriousness, here are the venues you may use for dispute resolution if the relevant page's talk page is insufficient:
 * User talk page. If some action is necessary, first consider discussing it on that user's talk page.


 * Consensus
 * In WP:CON, added: [Declarations from] "Jimbo Wales" [... have policy status.]


 * Dispute resolution
 * In WP:DR, added: "External links noticeboard – for questions about external links that are not being used to verify article content."


 * Edit war
 * In WP:WAR, changed: "Reversion exists to undo in full an edit that has no merit whatsoever, not to refute an editor with whom one happens to disagree." to: "If differences arise and cannot be resolved, the correct response is to discuss and try to reach agreement, and then to seek dispute resolution or other neutral help from the wider editing community."
 * New section, WP:WAR, with material moved from WP:WAR, and also: "Misuse of reversion in these ways may lead to administrator warnings or blocking."


 * Ownership of articles
 * In WP:OWN, added: "There is no rule against being the primary or sole editor of an article, provided that contributions and input from fellow editors is not ignored and/or immediately disregarded. Some articles have few (or one) main contributors. Being the primary editor does not equal ownership so long as the primary editor allows views of other editors."


 * Policies and guidelines
 * Made substantial changes throughout since September


 * Sock puppetry, previous selected version
 * Made substantial changes throughout since September. Discussion of the month's changes.


 * Username policy
 * In WP:U, added: "If you've inadvertently chosen an inappropriate username, you can change it - see below at Changing your username. If your username is considered borderline, you may be asked to change it voluntarily."
 * In WP:U, added: [You should consider the benefits and drawbacks of making substantial contributions under your real name before doing so,] "especially if you are interested in editing subjects which may be politically sensitive."


 * Civility
 * In WP:CIVIL, some material was rearranged and reworded. Added "It is sometimes difficult to make a hard-and-fast judgement of what is uncivil and what is not. Such a judgement may need to take into account such matters as (i) the intensity of the language/behavior; (ii) whether the behavior has occurred on a single occasion, or is occasional or regular; (iii) whether a request has already been made to stop the behavior, and whether that request is recent; (iv) whether the behavior has been provoked; and (v) the extent to which the behavior of others need to be treated at the same time."  Removed "excessive sarcasm".  Removed "for instance, calling someone a liar, or accusing him/her of slander or libel."  Shortened "Using derogatory language towards other contributors or, in general, referring to groups such as social classes, nationalities, ethnic groups, religious groups, or others in a derogatory manner" to "derogatory references to groups such as social classes or nationalities".  Also removed the following:
 * Belittling contributors because of their language skills or word choice.
 * Ridiculing comments from other editors, rather than making serious criticism of them.
 * Feigned incomprehension, "playing dumb"
 * Attempts to publicly volunteer other people's time and effort for work they have not agreed to perform.
 * Use of condescending language towards other Users. (e.g. "You're just a newbie, you clearly don't understand how Wikipedia works, now try reading some policy pages before commenting again.") Wikipedia has no official rank structure and all Users should feel as though they are being treated as equals at all times.


 * Consensus
 * In the nutshell, removed "Consensus is about how editors work with others. ... Policies and guidelines document communal consensus rather than creating it."
 * In WP:CON, removed: "That said, consensus is not simple agreement; a handful of editors agreeing on something does not constitute a consensus, except in the thinnest sense. Consensus is a broader process where specific points of article content are considered in terms of the article as a whole, and in terms of the article's place in the encyclopedia, in the hope that editors will negotiate a reasonable balance between competing views, as well as with the practical necessities of writing an encyclopedia and legal restrictions."
 * Moved a paragraph from WP:CON to WP:CON and shortened it to: "For instance, participants in a WikiProject cannot decide that some generally accepted policy does not apply to articles within its scope, unless they can convince the broader community that such action is right." Also in WP:CON, removed: "Wikimedia founding principles lays out the basic principles for all Wikimedia projects. These represent the consensus among all Wikimedia projects, and affect all of them. It is very hard to change them, because you need to convince such a large community. But they do change slowly over time."
 * In WP:CON, changed "Editors are therefore expected to discuss substantive changes on the talk page before making them." to "Editors are therefore typically expected to propose substantive changes on the talk page before making them. Don't do big things suddenly; the community is more likely to accept your edits if you do them slowly and make effort to keep the community involved."
 * In WP:CON, added: [Someone makes a change to a page] "(any page other than a talk page)," [then everyone who reads the page has an opportunity to leave it as it is, or change it. ... This is the simplest form of consensus, and it is used in everyday editing on the vast majority of Wikipedia's] "non-talk" [pages].
 * Renamed WP:CON to WP:CON, and changed it substantially from the August 31 version.


 * Dispute resolution
 * Added to the introduction: "Also please remember that Wikipedia is not about winning." Also added: "For dispute resolution involving edits by an Open-source Ticket Request System ("OTRS") volunteer, see our policy page on OTRS."
 * In WP:DR, mentions of OTRS were deleted from the text, and a see-also note was added, "For any dispute involving OTRS-related edits, see WP:OTRS."


 * Edit war
 * Renamed WP:WAR to WP:WAR


 * Editing policy
 * In WP:EP, removed footnote with link to email by Jimmy Wales entitled "Zero information is preferred to misleading or false information". Added: "... because within Wikipedia no information is better than misleading or false information&mdash;Wikipedia's reputation as a trusted encyclopaedia depends on the information within articles being accurate."
 * In WP:EP, removed: "It is wonderful when someone adds a comprehensive, well-researched, and well-written article to Wikipedia."
 * In WP:EP, changed "There is a tension between WP:PRESERVE and WP:BURDEN, and editors should consider whether the information is harmful." to "... particularly when it may be harmful. Unsourced negative material concerning living people should be removed immediately (as stated in Wikipedia's policy on burden of evidence)." Added: [merging it to another article] "with the original article turned into a redirect as described at performing a merge."
 * In WP:EP, changed "In fact, some Wikipedians think you should not wait at all – simply change an article immediately if you see a problem, rather than waiting to discuss changes that you believe need to be made." to "If you see a problem that you can fix, do so." Some sentences were reworded or shortened with no significant changes.


 * Policies and guidelines
 * In the introduction, changed "our goal of creating a free and neutral encyclopedia that anyone can edit." to "our goal of creating a free, reliable encyclopedia; indeed, the largest encyclopedia in history, both in terms of breadth and in terms of depth."


 * Sock puppetry, selected version
 * Added to WP:SOCK: [It is unacceptable to use alternative accounts to disrupt Wikipedia,] "to deceive other editors ..."
 * Added to WP:SOCK: "... Making a clean start with a new account, but then turning up at pages you used to edit with the old account, while denying any connection to it; this is particularly inappropriate if the article or edits are contentious."


 * Username policy
 * Added to WP:U: "You can additionally use the template uw-coi-username."


 * Vandalism
 * Added to WP:V: [If most or all of these are obvious vandalism,] "and there seems an urgent need to block that user," [you may report the user immediately] "at Administrator intervention against vandalism."


 * Civility
 * Several statements were softened without a significant change in meaning, for instance "always treat" became "always endeavor to treat" and "not in themselves a concern" became "not in themselves a major concern".
 * In WP:CIVIL, added as examples: "excessive sarcasm", and "Use of condescending language towards other Users. (e.g. "You're just a newbie, you clearly don't understand how Wikipedia works, now try reading some policy pages before commenting again.") Wikipedia has no official rank structure and all Users should feel as though they are being treated as equals at all times."


 * Consensus
 * In the introduction, removed a pointer to the fourth pillar
 * Removed the WP:CON section (July 31 version), and moved some of the content down to WP:CON and new section WP:CON, with substantial changes: "Some content issues, such as copyright violations and biographies of living persons, are not normally subject to debate or consensus, primarily because of the risk of real harm inherent in them. ... Policies and guidelines reflect established consensus, and their stability and consistency are important if the community is to have confidence in them. Editors are therefore expected to discuss substantive changes on the talk page before making them."
 * In WP:CON, removed [Declarations] "from Jimmy Wales," [ the Wikimedia Foundation Board, or the Developers, particularly for copyright, legal issues, or server load, have policy status.], and removed link to Policies and guidelines. Added "It is very hard to change [the Wikimedia founding principles], because you need to convince such a large community. But they do change slowly over time."
 * In WP:CON, added: "Someone makes a change to a page, then everyone who reads the page has an opportunity to leave it as it is, or change it. When two or more editors cannot reach an agreement by editing, consensus is sought on article talk pages."
 * In WP:CON, removed link to bold, revert, discuss cycle
 * Changed WP:CON to WP:CON, and removed: "New users who are not yet familiar with consensus should realize that polls (if held) are often more likely to be the start of a discussion rather than the end of one."
 * Changed WP:CON to WP:CON


 * Dispute resolution
 * Added new subsection: WP:DR


 * Edit war
 * Changed WP:WAR to WP:WAR, moved some material around, and added: [... stall a] "discussion, or coerce a given stance on a page without regard to collaborative approaches." Added "... exhaust other users into dropping the issue, rather than seeking constructive, encyclopedia-related consensus. Such behaviors are never acceptable."  Added [Edit warring is different from bold, revert, discuss (BRD)] "which presumes even a major edit may be tried out, unless another editor objects to the point of reversion, at which point BRD is complete and editing transitions to discussion and consensus seeking."
 * Changed WP:WAR to WP:WAR.
 * In WP:WAR, changed "rectify a genuine mistake" to "genuinely trying to rectify their own mistake"
 * In WP:WAR, added "(check the definition)"
 * WP:WAR, added [administrators should consider all sides,] "since perceived unfairness can fuel issues.", and added links: prevent, deter and encourage change in and tag team reverting


 * No legal threats
 * Added link, email, and added the NoSpamEmail template to protect the mailing list


 * No personal attacks
 * New section heading, but with no new material: WP:NPA


 * Ownership of articles
 * In the introduction, moved part of the first sentence into a footnote
 * Removed a section, WP:OWN (July 31 version)


 * Policies and guidelines
 * Substantial changes to the entire page from the July 31 version


 * Sock puppetry
 * Added to introduction: [If someone uses alternative accounts, it is] "strongly" [recommended that they provide links between the accounts in most cases ...]
 * Added to WP:SOCK:
 * It is unacceptable to use alternative accounts to disrupt Wikipedia or to misrepresent yourself or your contributions. For example:
 * Posing as a neutral commentator, using one alt account, in a policy discussion about another account of the same person.
 * !Voting more than once in polls, such as WP:Articles for discussion polls.
 * Using multiple accounts to violate our rules about edit warring
 * Creating an article with one account, and then marking it as patrolled with another.
 * Use of a separate account for disruption or vandalism, in the hope that, when it is blocked, the main account can continue with blameless editing.
 * Creating an article with one account and proposing it for deletion with another, a WP:POINT violation
 * Creating a separate account to argue one side of an issue in a deliberately irrational or offensive fashion, to sway opinion to another side.
 * It is improper to use multiple accounts to do anything which cannot or should not be done with a single account.


 * Username policy
 * Added to WP:U: [Promotional usernames are used to promote a group, company, product] "or website"; also added [Disruptive usernames include outright trolling or personal attacks,] "include profanities". Removed [your name should not end] "or begin" [with "bot"].
 * WP:U and WP:U were both shortened.
 * In WP:U, the guidelines were replaced by a link to the instructions at Usernames for administrator attention/Listing instructions.


 * Civility
 * Added to the nutshell: "This policy is not a weapon to use against other contributors."
 * Added to WP:CIV: "Ridiculing comments from other editors, rather than making serious criticism of them"


 * Consensus
 * Changed Category:Wikipedia enforcement policies to Category:Wikipedia conduct policies
 * In the introduction, changed "Consensus is wikipedias fundamental model for decision making, and determines how editors work with others." to "Consensus is one of a range of policies regarding how editors work with each other ...", and shortened "... article talk pages may be used as a further means to reach consensus. While on-wiki text is considered to be the canonical consensus, creative use of other means of reaching consensus is permitted and encouraged." to "... consensus is sought on article talk pages."
 * In WP:CON, shortened "... a local debate on a WikiProject does not override the larger consensus of the community, as documented in for instance policies or guidelines." to "... a local debate on a WikiProject does not override the larger consensus behind a policy or guideline." Also changed "consensus among all Wikimedia projects" to "consensus decisions achievable among all Wikimedia projects", and removed "Because there's such a large community subscribing to them, they are rather hard to change."
 * In WP:CON, changed [Developing consensus requires special attention to neutrality ] "– remaining neutral in our actions" to "and verifiability"
 * Expanded WP:CON from the June 30 version
 * Added to WP:CON: "Don't revert due to "no consensus", essay opposing use of consensus to violate the editing policy"; "No consensus (essay)"; and Truth by consensus


 * Edit war
 * The entire page was changed substantially (again) from the June 30 version


 * Editing policy
 * Added to WP:EP: "Depending on the degree of its suspected inaccuracy or negative impact, the information may be removed either immediately or after sources have been requested and none has been provided for some time." Also added footnote, ""


 * Harassment
 * Added Category:Wikipedia conduct policies


 * Ignore all rules
 * Added Category:Wikipedia conduct policies


 * No legal threats
 * Added to lead section: [If you must take legal action ... You should instead contact the person or people involved directly,] "by email or through any other contact methods the user provides."
 * Added to WP:NLT: link to legal threat


 * No personal attacks
 * Added to WP:NPA: link to the essay Shunning


 * Policies and guidelines
 * The entire page was changed substantially from the June 30 version


 * Sock puppetry
 * Added to lead section: "As a general rule, each Wikipedian is allowed only one account."
 * Added footnote to WP:SOCK: "ArbCom case link"
 * Added to WP:SOCK: "When using more than one account it is essential not to "cross the streams" of the different accounts. If more than one account controlled by the same user edits the same page or joins the same discussion, there may be a finding of sock puppetry. Editors who use multiple accounts may be sanctioned if they unintentionally, accidentally, or carelessly engage in sock puppetry." Also added footnote: "See Ghostbusters."
 * In WP:SOCK, changed "prominent users might create a new account to experience how the community functions for new users." to "longterm contributors using their real name may wish to use a pseudonymous account for contributions they do not want their real name to be associated with. If you use an alternate account, it is your responsibility to ensure that you do not use it in a forbidden manner."
 * Added to WP:SOCK: "This is permitted only if there is no active deception, particularly on pages that the old account used to edit. That is, you should not turn up on a page User:A used to edit to continue the same editing pattern, this time as User:B, while denying any connection to User:A, particularly if the edits are contentious."
 * In WP:SOCK, changed from "... this list does not allow direct mailing by non-members" to "The local functionaries email list () can also be advised". Also, removed [the Arbitration Committee list ([mailto:arbcom-l@lists.wikimedia.org arbcom-l@lists.wikimedia.org])] "which includes current and former members of the committee"


 * Username policy
 * Changed Category:Wikipedia enforcement policies to Category:Wikipedia conduct policies
 * In WP:U, changed "Explicit use of a company or group name as a username" to "Explicit use of a name or url of a company, group or product as a username".
 * In WP:U, removed: "experienced contributors might create a new account in order to experience how the community functions for new or inexperienced users"
 * There was a major revision of the entire page from the June 30 version, with a new section WP:U that begins "... This section is aimed at new users." A new section WP:U is aimed at patrollers and admins, including advice on Usernames for Administrator Attention and username blocks, and advice on remedies other than blocking.


 * Vandalism
 * In WP:VAN, changed [ WikiProject Vandalism studies ] "(currently inactive)" to "(currently semi-active)"


 * Conduct policy changes, December 2008 to June 2009