This page is currently inactive and is retained for
historical reference. Either the page is no longer relevant or consensus on its purpose has become unclear. To revive discussion, seek broader input via a forum such as the village pump. |
This is and will always be non-official; Wikipedia:Arbitration policy is the official stuff. This page is a non-official set of addenda to a currently unofficial set of policies, so it's free of anything official-like. |
The Arbitration Committee judges cases according to the following guidelines, which are applied with common sense and discretion, and an eye to the expectations of the community:
Former decisions do not form binding precedent — although we do try to be consistent within reason.
The Arbitrators reserve the right to hear or not hear any dispute, at their discretion. The following are general guidelines which will apply to most cases, including some sense of reasoning behind each guideline; however, the Arbitrators may make exceptions. These guidelines may change over time:
The initial solution to most problems will be to issue an Arbitration Decree. For example:
The second option will be to require that a user does not edit Wikipedia for a given time frame: up to thirty days to start with, up to a year in severe cases. These may be enforced by, for example, sysop blocks on IP addresses and usernames. Such bans may be appealed to Jimbo Wales, who retains the right to veto such decisions.
In due course, the arbitrators will review the possibility of additional software-based security measures, but will not request such features at the present time, relying instead on decreed remedies.
The Committee will work in the following way:
The arbitration committee accepts requests for arbitration from anyone. The arbitration committee will decide whether to accept cases based on its jurisdiction, as described previously.
The arbitrators will accept a case if four arbitrators have voted to hear it. The arbitrators will reject a case if one week has passed AND four arbitrators have voted not to hear it. Individual arbitrators will provide a rationale for their vote if so moved, or if specifically requested.
This page is currently inactive and is retained for
historical reference. Either the page is no longer relevant or consensus on its purpose has become unclear. To revive discussion, seek broader input via a forum such as the village pump. |
This is and will always be non-official; Wikipedia:Arbitration policy is the official stuff. This page is a non-official set of addenda to a currently unofficial set of policies, so it's free of anything official-like. |
The Arbitration Committee judges cases according to the following guidelines, which are applied with common sense and discretion, and an eye to the expectations of the community:
Former decisions do not form binding precedent — although we do try to be consistent within reason.
The Arbitrators reserve the right to hear or not hear any dispute, at their discretion. The following are general guidelines which will apply to most cases, including some sense of reasoning behind each guideline; however, the Arbitrators may make exceptions. These guidelines may change over time:
The initial solution to most problems will be to issue an Arbitration Decree. For example:
The second option will be to require that a user does not edit Wikipedia for a given time frame: up to thirty days to start with, up to a year in severe cases. These may be enforced by, for example, sysop blocks on IP addresses and usernames. Such bans may be appealed to Jimbo Wales, who retains the right to veto such decisions.
In due course, the arbitrators will review the possibility of additional software-based security measures, but will not request such features at the present time, relying instead on decreed remedies.
The Committee will work in the following way:
The arbitration committee accepts requests for arbitration from anyone. The arbitration committee will decide whether to accept cases based on its jurisdiction, as described previously.
The arbitrators will accept a case if four arbitrators have voted to hear it. The arbitrators will reject a case if one week has passed AND four arbitrators have voted not to hear it. Individual arbitrators will provide a rationale for their vote if so moved, or if specifically requested.