Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2010-11-22/Arbitration report

The Arbitration Committee opened no cases this week, leaving none open.

Speed of light
A request for amendment was initiated by User:Timotheus Canens, seeking to expand the topic ban on physics-related pages and renew the general one-year probation on which had recently expired. Following complaints of persistent disruption and edit-warring at mathematics-related articles, Timotheus Canens filed for the remedies to be broadened to cover such articles, where Brews had become active since the physics-related topic ban.

The arbitrators generally agreed with the complainant and other respondents, finding him unrepentant and unable to edit in a collegial manner. The complainant and Arb Roger Davies expressed concern that the disruptive behaviour would resume on the expiry of the site ban. Dissenting, Carcharoth agreed that Brews had been disruptive, but believed a six-month ban would have been more appropriate. The Committee voted 8:1 in favour of banning Brews ohare from Wikipedia for 12 months.

Climate change
In a motion enacted on 9 November, the Committee prohibited the 15 editors already banned from editing articles about climate change and the biographies of living people associated with climate change, together with their talk pages, henceforth from "participating in any process broadly construed on Wikipedia particularly affecting these articles; and ... initiating or participating in any discussion substantially relating to these articles anywhere on Wikipedia, even if the discussion also involves another issue or issues."

A second motion was adopted, that the editors involved may apply for the topic-ban to be lifted or modified no earlier than six months after the close of the amendment, with time-restrictions on additional reviews. The Committee made it clear that to succeed in those applications, they must demonstrate "their commitment to the goals of Wikipedia and their ability to work constructively with other editors".