Case clerks: L235 ( Talk) & Jim Carter ( Talk) Drafting arbitrators: AGK ( Talk) & Salvio giuliano ( Talk)
Wikipedia Arbitration |
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Track related changes |
Case opened on 01:57, 29 June 2015 (UTC)
Case closed on 01:25, 24 August 2015 (UTC)
Once the case is closed, editors should edit the #Enforcement log as needed, but the other content of this page may not be edited except by clerks or arbitrators. Please raise any questions about this decision at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Clarification and Amendment, any general questions at Wikipedia talk:Arbitration Committee, and report violations of the remedies passed in the decision to Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Enforcement.
Eric Corbett made a comment on his talk page that could be construed as violating his GGTF tban [1]. A discussion took place at WP:AE, and admin Black Kite closed the discussion as no action per consensus. GorillaWarfare who was aware of the discussion at AE, wheel-warred by reverting Black Kite's actions by blocking Eric Corbett. This has been discussed at WP:AN, but wheel-warring allegations are to be brought directly to ArbCom. The specific points that appear to be violations are:
Deliberately ignoring an existing discussion in favor of a unilateral preferred action, and
Abruptly undoing administrator actions without consultation
GorillaWarfare admitted that she was aware of the existing discussion and AE close here [2].
Black Kite stated that his administrator action in closing the AE without action was undone without consultation here [3].
It is clear that Eric Corbett could have been blocked for a tban, whether he was blocked or not is not the issue in this case. The issue is whether an ArbCom member/admin can unilaterally take their preferred action after deliberately ignoring an AE discussion, and abruptly undoing another admin's no-block close of that AE discussion without consulting either with him or others. GregJackP Boomer! 04:13, 27 June 2015 (UTC)
administrators are prohibited from reversing or overturning (explicitly or in substance) any action taken by another administrator pursuant to the terms of an active arbitration remedy. Here, GW reversed in substance an action taken by BK pursuant to AE. GregJackP Boomer! 04:28, 27 June 2015 (UTC)
I have yet to hear from anyone who feels that Eric Corbett did not violate his topic ban.
Whether the closure of the AE discussion was legitimate seems to be somewhat up for debate. Whether the closure of a discussion at AE constitutes an "admin action" should certainly be clarified. Whether my action was wheel warring against a consensus at WP:AE is up to others to decide, but I've yet to see anyone who feels the discussion at AE was complete or representative of the issue at hand. I enforced sanctions that Eric Corbett unequivocally breached, and I've yet to see anyone deny that he breached the sanctions. GorillaWarfare (talk) 07:31, 27 June 2015 (UTC)
Right, firstly, the title of this case is misleading. GW did not wheel-war under the definition, she simply - at worst - reversed my decision to take no action.OK, that's been fixed. The reason that I posted at AN was that there seems to be a paradox under the AE rules. If an administrator blocks someone under AE, they cannot be reversed by another admin without a community discussion. However if an administrator declines to block someone under an AE case, it appears they can then be blocked anyway - as has happened here. This to me seems illogical. However, it is something that should be discussed somewhere other than an ArbCom case, unless ArbCom wish to take it to issue clarification on the issue.
Black Kite (talk) 07:26, 27 June 2015 (UTC)
I stand by my close, which I'll copy here for your pleasure:
My closure of WP:AN. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 21:52, 28 June 2015 (UTC) |
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The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it. |
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My opinion and reading of consensus stands: GorillaWarfare did not wheel war, and neither did I, since my actions were based off the community's decision. Furthermore, the process of appealing arbitration enforcement blocks was, largely, followed. Yes, the letter of the law may have been slightly broken (request not filed by Eric himself), but the spirit was not. I regularly unblock editors who misfile their unblock requests, since the purpose of the unblocking policy is to get editors unblocked. It is not an end in itself. It is merely one of many means to an end.
I would like to re-iterate what I hinted at above in my close. The blocking policy is designed such that the default state for any editor is unblocked. This is why reversals of admin actions are permitted while re-reversals are not, so that users are not stuck blocked while everyone has a big argument over the merits of the block. The spirit of the blocking policy was not being followed in this case because Eric was being left blocked while deliberations were ongoing. This is not a fair scenario. Either appropriate sanctions supported by consensus must be placed, or else Eric needs to be unblocked. It was clear from the administrators' noticeboard discussion that there was definitely no consensus to block, and, indeed, there was a slight consensus to unblock. For that reason, I unblocked Eric.
Several people have been trying to point out to me that arbitration enforcement blocks cannot be overturned. However, when they fly in the face of consensus, they can be overturned. This was the case. Otherwise, any arbitration enforcement blocks are absolute, and the admin placing them has absolute power over them. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Angry personal attack screed stricken. My apologies to ArbCom members for this rant. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 21:52, 28 June 2015 (UTC) |
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I am of the belief that one should do what is right, regardless of any potential personal loss. And thus, I have acted. And thus, I will be judged. Thanks. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 13:13, 28 June 2015 (UTC)
TL;DR. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 21:52, 28 June 2015 (UTC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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@ Kevin Gorman: Leaving Eric blocked for the duration of this case is a dick move. A bunch of admins cannot even agree on what the sanction, if any, should be. Thus, it isn't fair to block someone for what may later be determined to be inappropriate. Additionally, if you've noticed, I left Callenecc's blocks alone. This is because they were applied according to policy, and it was immaterial whether I approved of them or not. I removed GorillaWarfare's block per the discussion and it not adhering to policy. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 16:17, 28 June 2015 (UTC) Regarding my involvement: Almost every admin is or has been involved in Eric's blocks at some point or another. Additionally, I am much more friendly with GorillaWarfare than with Eric, so accusations of me being WP:INVOLVED are moot—if I were acting based on what friends say, I'd be supporting the block. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 16:22, 28 June 2015 (UTC) |
@ Roger Davies: As one of the two primary admins being accused of misconduct (the other being GorillaWarfare), am I not allowed some exemption to the 500 word rule? This isn't some simplistic "he violated 3RR" or "she wheel warred", so I need to be able to explain, in depth, the reasoning for my actions. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 20:51, 28 June 2015 (UTC)
In summary:
In general, I have no involvement in this matter, and am not concerned with the particulars of the case. In response to the allegations by a Mr Gorman, I will make my response simple. I do not know what "wheel-warring" is. I did not think it was appropriate for Mr Gorman, an involved party in the discussion with strong opinions, to remove another administrator-in-good-standing's well-written assessment of consensus and closing statement, which he used as justification for an unblocking, without first having gone through a closure review. Therefore, I reverted per WP:BRD. In fact, given that these events were already being developed in an arbitration case, it was almost certain that the matter would be dealt with here, making such an overturning disruptive to the process. I do not think that Mr Gorman's statement about "policy violations" makes much sense. Whether the closing statement was a "policy violation" or not is not for Mr Gorman to decide unilaterally. It is a matter for the Committee or the community to decide. I imagine that the Committee will make that determination here. Mr Gorman's removal of the closing statement was nothing more than an attempt to throw a spanner in the works, and also to force his own interpretation of policy through without regard of the consensus in the discussion or of the other ongoing processes. Finally, I find my addition to this case as a party both offensive and misleading. Mr Gorman is muddying the waters, has threatened me on my talk page, and shown behaviour that is unbecoming of administrator. Regardless of other matters pertaining to this case, of which I am not familiar, I imagine that Mr Gorman should be stripped of his rank for threatening the citizenry and for attempting to issue diktats without the standing to do so. RGloucester — ☎ 19:15, 28 June 2015 (UTC)
Enforcement of previous ArbCom decisionsor
AE closes, timelines, and independent admin actions? One needs to be picked for consistency; the level two section header says the former, while the "Arbitrators' opinion on hearing this matter" section uses the latter. @ Courcelles: Can I indent your second comment, consistent with common practice? @ GorillaWarfare: Do you want to be marked as recused on this case formally? You are not currently so marked. Thanks, L235 ( t / c / ping in reply) 02:32, 28 June 2015 (UTC)
Vote key: (Accept/decline/recuse/other)
As this disagreement proves, there is the need to clarify the grey areas in policy; to do that, we need a case, which, incidentally, would also give us the perfect opportunity to publish a set of principles codifying best practices to help admins who are already enforcing our decisions and those who would like to start. For that, accept. Salvio Let's talk about it! 18:57, 27 June 2015 (UTC)
Having voted, I have a couple of additional brief remarks. First, closing as no action plainly is an enforcement decision. If one administrator bins a complaint, then another fishes it out of the garbage and hands out a ban, it is ludicrous to say the second administrator has not overruled the first. Dismissing an enforcement request is still an enforcement action, and to write procedure without accepting that point is to give an enormous upper hand to trigger-shy, biased, or incompetent sysops. Second, Sandstein's submission is wrong: the Standard provision: appeals and modifications procedure clause allows bad closures to be overturned by appeal. AGK [•] 14:34, 28 June 2015 (UTC)
By motion, the committee authorises the following injunction effective immediately:
1. The case is to be opened forthwith and entitled "Arbitration enforcement";
2. During the case, no user who has commented about this matter on the
AN page, the
AE page or the
Case Requests page, may take or initiate administrative action involving any of the named parties in this case.
3. Reports of alleged breaches of (2) are to be made only by email to the Arbitration Committee, via the
main contact page.
Enacted: L235 ( t / c / ping in reply) 01:16, 29 June 2015 (UTC) Paragraphs (2) and (3) rescinded on 12:25, 5 July 2015 (UTC). See motion below. - Penwhale | dance in the air and follow his steps 12:31, 5 July 2015 (UTC)
Passed 6-0 with 3 abstentions on 12:25, 5 July 2015 (UTC), and enacted 12:34, 5 July 2015 (UTC)
All tallies are based the votes at /Proposed decision, where comments and discussion from the voting phase is also available.
1) The purpose of Wikipedia is to create a high-quality, free-content encyclopedia in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual respect among contributors. Use of the site for other purposes, such as advocacy or propaganda or furtherance of outside conflicts is prohibited. Contributors whose actions are detrimental to that goal may be asked to refrain from them, even when these actions are are undertaken in good faith.
2) The role of the committee is to act as a final binding decision-maker primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve ( § Arbitration Policy). Content areas the committee has previously ruled on are often thereafter subject to ongoing special enforcement arrangements, such as discretionary sanctions. From time to time the committee may revisit these enforcement systems – in order to, for example, clarify ambiguities or to evaluate whether they remain necessary.
3) Arbitration enforcement (AE) is the noticeboard, set up by the Arbitration Committee and staffed by administrators, for editors to report suspected breaches of arbitration decisions. When enforcing arbitration decisions, administrators act as delegates of the Arbitration Committee and, in that role, they review the facts and, if necessary, take action.
4) Although administrators do not need explicit consensus to enforce arbitration decisions and can always act unilaterally, when the case is not clear-cut they are encouraged, before acting, to seek input from their colleagues at arbitration enforcement. In addition, when a consensus of uninvolved administrators is emerging in a discussion, administrators willing to overrule their colleagues should act with caution and must explain their reasons on request. Administrators overruling their colleagues without good cause may be directed to refrain from further participation in arbitration enforcement.
5) In enforcing arbitration decisions, administrators are expected to use their common sense. Except for the cases when the Arbitration Committee has predetermined the set of escalating sanctions to be imposed for violations of a final decision, the severity of the sanction imposed should be commensurate with all circumstances of the case at hand, including the seriousness of the violation and the possible recidivism of the editor in question.
Administrators may also close a report with no action when no actual violation occurred or the consensus of uninvolved administrators is that exceptional circumstances are present, which would make the imposition of a sanction inappropriate; in these cases, they may also warn or advise the editor being reported, in order to avoid further breaches.
Administrators wishing to dismiss an enforcement request are reminded that they should act cautiously and be especially mindful that their actions do not give the impression that they are second-guessing the Arbitration Committee or obstructing the enforcement of their decisions. Administrators are also reminded they are still expected to comply with the expectations set out in Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions#Expectations of administrators. Violating these expectations may lead to sanctions.
6.1) Dismissing an enforcement request is an exercise of judgment and therefore constitutes an enforcement action. As such, once a request has been dismissed by an uninvolved administrator, it may not be reopened.
In these cases, any interested users may, after discussion with the administrator in question, appeal the dismissal to the Arbitration Committee at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Clarification and Amendment, but care should be taken that this only be done when appropriate. Petitioners who forum shop by resubmitting denied enforcement requests without good reason may find themselves cautioned or sanctioned in return.
7) Only the sanctioned editor may file an appeal against a sanction. Other editors may offer assistance, but the decision to appeal and the choice of venue may only be made by the sanctioned editor.
Appeals filed by any user other than the one sanctioned may be closed at any time. However, any interested users may ask for clarifications, if they are acting in good faith.
8) For the purpose of applying the special rules against modifying or overturning an enforcement action (see Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions#Appeals and modifications), all enforcement actions are presumed valid and proper until an appeal is successful.
9) Editors participating in enforcement cases and appeals must disclose fully their involvement, if any. While good-faith statements are welcome, editors are expected to discuss only evidence and procedure. Insults and personal attacks, soapboxing and casting aspersions are as unacceptable in enforcement discussions as elsewhere on Wikipedia. Uninvolved administrators are asked to ensure that enforcement cases are not disrupted.
1) The proximate cause of this dispute was a comment made by Eric Corbett ( talk · contribs) on his talk page which was reported to arbitration enforcement as a violation of the indefinite topic ban imposed on him as a result of the Interactions at GGTF case.
Upon reviewing the report, Black Kite ( talk · contribs) closed it with no action. At the time, no other uninvolved administrator had made any comments and the report had been open for only about five hours.
GorillaWarfare ( talk · contribs), aware of of the fact Black Kite had dismissed the report, overruled his decision and unilaterally blocked Eric for a month without discussion.
Black Kite subsequently opened an AN discussion regarding GorillaWarfare's block of Eric which was treated as an appeal, despite the fact that Eric at no time expressed any desire to appeal the restriction. The discussion was then closed by Reaper Eternal ( talk · contribs), who unblocked Eric, arguing that there [was] definitely no consensus [there] for a block; indeed, the results seem[ed] to show a slight consensus in favor of unblocking. A pure vote count show[ed] a 60/40 split in favor of unblocking.
2) The conduct of all administrators involved in the dispute was suboptimal.
Black Kite's actions had the effect of interfering with the enforcement of the Arbitration Committee's decision; in fact, since Eric's comment was a violation of his restriction and was not minor in nature, Black Kite should not have dismissed the enforcement request so quickly and without waiting for input from other uninvolved administrators
GorillaWarfare's actions fell foul of the rules set out in Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions#Appeals and modifications and in Wikipedia:Administrators#Reversing another administrator's action, namely the expectation that administrative actions should not be reversed without [...] a brief discussion with the administrator whose action is challenged.
Reaper Eternal's actions violated Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions#Appeals and modifications requiring, for an appeal to be successful, a request on the part of the sanctioned editor and the clear and substantial consensus of [...] uninvolved editors at AN.
Note: All remedies that refer to a period of time, for example to a ban of X months or a revert parole of Y months, are to run concurrently unless otherwise stated.
1) The Arbitration Committee delegates the drafters of this case to amend and clarify the text of the policy at Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions and the text on Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Enforcement to bring them in line with the clarifications contained in this decision.
0) Should any user subject to a restriction in this case violate that restriction, that user may be blocked, initially for up to one month, and then with blocks increasing in duration to a maximum of one year.
0) Appeals and modifications
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This procedure applies to appeals related to, and modifications of, actions taken by administrators to enforce the Committee's remedies. It does not apply to appeals related to the remedies directly enacted by the Committee.
Appeals may be made only by the editor under sanction and only for a currently active sanction. Requests for modification of page restrictions may be made by any editor. The process has three possible stages (see "Important notes" below). The editor may:
No administrator may modify or remove a sanction placed by another administrator without:
Administrators modifying sanctions out of process may at the discretion of the committee be desysopped. Nothing in this section prevents an administrator from replacing an existing sanction issued by another administrator with a new sanction if fresh misconduct has taken place after the existing sanction was applied. Administrators are free to modify sanctions placed by former administrators – that is, editors who do not have the administrator permission enabled (due to a temporary or permanent relinquishment or desysop) – without regard to the requirements of this section. If an administrator modifies a sanction placed by a former administrator, the administrator who made the modification becomes the "enforcing administrator". If a former administrator regains the tools, the provisions of this section again apply to their unmodified enforcement actions. Important notes:
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Any block, restriction, ban, or sanction performed under the authorisation of a remedy for this case must be logged at Wikipedia:Arbitration enforcement log, not here.
Case clerks: L235 ( Talk) & Jim Carter ( Talk) Drafting arbitrators: AGK ( Talk) & Salvio giuliano ( Talk)
Wikipedia Arbitration |
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Track related changes |
Case opened on 01:57, 29 June 2015 (UTC)
Case closed on 01:25, 24 August 2015 (UTC)
Once the case is closed, editors should edit the #Enforcement log as needed, but the other content of this page may not be edited except by clerks or arbitrators. Please raise any questions about this decision at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Clarification and Amendment, any general questions at Wikipedia talk:Arbitration Committee, and report violations of the remedies passed in the decision to Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Enforcement.
Eric Corbett made a comment on his talk page that could be construed as violating his GGTF tban [1]. A discussion took place at WP:AE, and admin Black Kite closed the discussion as no action per consensus. GorillaWarfare who was aware of the discussion at AE, wheel-warred by reverting Black Kite's actions by blocking Eric Corbett. This has been discussed at WP:AN, but wheel-warring allegations are to be brought directly to ArbCom. The specific points that appear to be violations are:
Deliberately ignoring an existing discussion in favor of a unilateral preferred action, and
Abruptly undoing administrator actions without consultation
GorillaWarfare admitted that she was aware of the existing discussion and AE close here [2].
Black Kite stated that his administrator action in closing the AE without action was undone without consultation here [3].
It is clear that Eric Corbett could have been blocked for a tban, whether he was blocked or not is not the issue in this case. The issue is whether an ArbCom member/admin can unilaterally take their preferred action after deliberately ignoring an AE discussion, and abruptly undoing another admin's no-block close of that AE discussion without consulting either with him or others. GregJackP Boomer! 04:13, 27 June 2015 (UTC)
administrators are prohibited from reversing or overturning (explicitly or in substance) any action taken by another administrator pursuant to the terms of an active arbitration remedy. Here, GW reversed in substance an action taken by BK pursuant to AE. GregJackP Boomer! 04:28, 27 June 2015 (UTC)
I have yet to hear from anyone who feels that Eric Corbett did not violate his topic ban.
Whether the closure of the AE discussion was legitimate seems to be somewhat up for debate. Whether the closure of a discussion at AE constitutes an "admin action" should certainly be clarified. Whether my action was wheel warring against a consensus at WP:AE is up to others to decide, but I've yet to see anyone who feels the discussion at AE was complete or representative of the issue at hand. I enforced sanctions that Eric Corbett unequivocally breached, and I've yet to see anyone deny that he breached the sanctions. GorillaWarfare (talk) 07:31, 27 June 2015 (UTC)
Right, firstly, the title of this case is misleading. GW did not wheel-war under the definition, she simply - at worst - reversed my decision to take no action.OK, that's been fixed. The reason that I posted at AN was that there seems to be a paradox under the AE rules. If an administrator blocks someone under AE, they cannot be reversed by another admin without a community discussion. However if an administrator declines to block someone under an AE case, it appears they can then be blocked anyway - as has happened here. This to me seems illogical. However, it is something that should be discussed somewhere other than an ArbCom case, unless ArbCom wish to take it to issue clarification on the issue.
Black Kite (talk) 07:26, 27 June 2015 (UTC)
I stand by my close, which I'll copy here for your pleasure:
My closure of WP:AN. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 21:52, 28 June 2015 (UTC) |
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The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it. |
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My opinion and reading of consensus stands: GorillaWarfare did not wheel war, and neither did I, since my actions were based off the community's decision. Furthermore, the process of appealing arbitration enforcement blocks was, largely, followed. Yes, the letter of the law may have been slightly broken (request not filed by Eric himself), but the spirit was not. I regularly unblock editors who misfile their unblock requests, since the purpose of the unblocking policy is to get editors unblocked. It is not an end in itself. It is merely one of many means to an end.
I would like to re-iterate what I hinted at above in my close. The blocking policy is designed such that the default state for any editor is unblocked. This is why reversals of admin actions are permitted while re-reversals are not, so that users are not stuck blocked while everyone has a big argument over the merits of the block. The spirit of the blocking policy was not being followed in this case because Eric was being left blocked while deliberations were ongoing. This is not a fair scenario. Either appropriate sanctions supported by consensus must be placed, or else Eric needs to be unblocked. It was clear from the administrators' noticeboard discussion that there was definitely no consensus to block, and, indeed, there was a slight consensus to unblock. For that reason, I unblocked Eric.
Several people have been trying to point out to me that arbitration enforcement blocks cannot be overturned. However, when they fly in the face of consensus, they can be overturned. This was the case. Otherwise, any arbitration enforcement blocks are absolute, and the admin placing them has absolute power over them. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Angry personal attack screed stricken. My apologies to ArbCom members for this rant. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 21:52, 28 June 2015 (UTC) |
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The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it. |
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I am of the belief that one should do what is right, regardless of any potential personal loss. And thus, I have acted. And thus, I will be judged. Thanks. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 13:13, 28 June 2015 (UTC)
TL;DR. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 21:52, 28 June 2015 (UTC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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@ Kevin Gorman: Leaving Eric blocked for the duration of this case is a dick move. A bunch of admins cannot even agree on what the sanction, if any, should be. Thus, it isn't fair to block someone for what may later be determined to be inappropriate. Additionally, if you've noticed, I left Callenecc's blocks alone. This is because they were applied according to policy, and it was immaterial whether I approved of them or not. I removed GorillaWarfare's block per the discussion and it not adhering to policy. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 16:17, 28 June 2015 (UTC) Regarding my involvement: Almost every admin is or has been involved in Eric's blocks at some point or another. Additionally, I am much more friendly with GorillaWarfare than with Eric, so accusations of me being WP:INVOLVED are moot—if I were acting based on what friends say, I'd be supporting the block. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 16:22, 28 June 2015 (UTC) |
@ Roger Davies: As one of the two primary admins being accused of misconduct (the other being GorillaWarfare), am I not allowed some exemption to the 500 word rule? This isn't some simplistic "he violated 3RR" or "she wheel warred", so I need to be able to explain, in depth, the reasoning for my actions. Reaper Eternal ( talk) 20:51, 28 June 2015 (UTC)
In summary:
In general, I have no involvement in this matter, and am not concerned with the particulars of the case. In response to the allegations by a Mr Gorman, I will make my response simple. I do not know what "wheel-warring" is. I did not think it was appropriate for Mr Gorman, an involved party in the discussion with strong opinions, to remove another administrator-in-good-standing's well-written assessment of consensus and closing statement, which he used as justification for an unblocking, without first having gone through a closure review. Therefore, I reverted per WP:BRD. In fact, given that these events were already being developed in an arbitration case, it was almost certain that the matter would be dealt with here, making such an overturning disruptive to the process. I do not think that Mr Gorman's statement about "policy violations" makes much sense. Whether the closing statement was a "policy violation" or not is not for Mr Gorman to decide unilaterally. It is a matter for the Committee or the community to decide. I imagine that the Committee will make that determination here. Mr Gorman's removal of the closing statement was nothing more than an attempt to throw a spanner in the works, and also to force his own interpretation of policy through without regard of the consensus in the discussion or of the other ongoing processes. Finally, I find my addition to this case as a party both offensive and misleading. Mr Gorman is muddying the waters, has threatened me on my talk page, and shown behaviour that is unbecoming of administrator. Regardless of other matters pertaining to this case, of which I am not familiar, I imagine that Mr Gorman should be stripped of his rank for threatening the citizenry and for attempting to issue diktats without the standing to do so. RGloucester — ☎ 19:15, 28 June 2015 (UTC)
Enforcement of previous ArbCom decisionsor
AE closes, timelines, and independent admin actions? One needs to be picked for consistency; the level two section header says the former, while the "Arbitrators' opinion on hearing this matter" section uses the latter. @ Courcelles: Can I indent your second comment, consistent with common practice? @ GorillaWarfare: Do you want to be marked as recused on this case formally? You are not currently so marked. Thanks, L235 ( t / c / ping in reply) 02:32, 28 June 2015 (UTC)
Vote key: (Accept/decline/recuse/other)
As this disagreement proves, there is the need to clarify the grey areas in policy; to do that, we need a case, which, incidentally, would also give us the perfect opportunity to publish a set of principles codifying best practices to help admins who are already enforcing our decisions and those who would like to start. For that, accept. Salvio Let's talk about it! 18:57, 27 June 2015 (UTC)
Having voted, I have a couple of additional brief remarks. First, closing as no action plainly is an enforcement decision. If one administrator bins a complaint, then another fishes it out of the garbage and hands out a ban, it is ludicrous to say the second administrator has not overruled the first. Dismissing an enforcement request is still an enforcement action, and to write procedure without accepting that point is to give an enormous upper hand to trigger-shy, biased, or incompetent sysops. Second, Sandstein's submission is wrong: the Standard provision: appeals and modifications procedure clause allows bad closures to be overturned by appeal. AGK [•] 14:34, 28 June 2015 (UTC)
By motion, the committee authorises the following injunction effective immediately:
1. The case is to be opened forthwith and entitled "Arbitration enforcement";
2. During the case, no user who has commented about this matter on the
AN page, the
AE page or the
Case Requests page, may take or initiate administrative action involving any of the named parties in this case.
3. Reports of alleged breaches of (2) are to be made only by email to the Arbitration Committee, via the
main contact page.
Enacted: L235 ( t / c / ping in reply) 01:16, 29 June 2015 (UTC) Paragraphs (2) and (3) rescinded on 12:25, 5 July 2015 (UTC). See motion below. - Penwhale | dance in the air and follow his steps 12:31, 5 July 2015 (UTC)
Passed 6-0 with 3 abstentions on 12:25, 5 July 2015 (UTC), and enacted 12:34, 5 July 2015 (UTC)
All tallies are based the votes at /Proposed decision, where comments and discussion from the voting phase is also available.
1) The purpose of Wikipedia is to create a high-quality, free-content encyclopedia in an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual respect among contributors. Use of the site for other purposes, such as advocacy or propaganda or furtherance of outside conflicts is prohibited. Contributors whose actions are detrimental to that goal may be asked to refrain from them, even when these actions are are undertaken in good faith.
2) The role of the committee is to act as a final binding decision-maker primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve ( § Arbitration Policy). Content areas the committee has previously ruled on are often thereafter subject to ongoing special enforcement arrangements, such as discretionary sanctions. From time to time the committee may revisit these enforcement systems – in order to, for example, clarify ambiguities or to evaluate whether they remain necessary.
3) Arbitration enforcement (AE) is the noticeboard, set up by the Arbitration Committee and staffed by administrators, for editors to report suspected breaches of arbitration decisions. When enforcing arbitration decisions, administrators act as delegates of the Arbitration Committee and, in that role, they review the facts and, if necessary, take action.
4) Although administrators do not need explicit consensus to enforce arbitration decisions and can always act unilaterally, when the case is not clear-cut they are encouraged, before acting, to seek input from their colleagues at arbitration enforcement. In addition, when a consensus of uninvolved administrators is emerging in a discussion, administrators willing to overrule their colleagues should act with caution and must explain their reasons on request. Administrators overruling their colleagues without good cause may be directed to refrain from further participation in arbitration enforcement.
5) In enforcing arbitration decisions, administrators are expected to use their common sense. Except for the cases when the Arbitration Committee has predetermined the set of escalating sanctions to be imposed for violations of a final decision, the severity of the sanction imposed should be commensurate with all circumstances of the case at hand, including the seriousness of the violation and the possible recidivism of the editor in question.
Administrators may also close a report with no action when no actual violation occurred or the consensus of uninvolved administrators is that exceptional circumstances are present, which would make the imposition of a sanction inappropriate; in these cases, they may also warn or advise the editor being reported, in order to avoid further breaches.
Administrators wishing to dismiss an enforcement request are reminded that they should act cautiously and be especially mindful that their actions do not give the impression that they are second-guessing the Arbitration Committee or obstructing the enforcement of their decisions. Administrators are also reminded they are still expected to comply with the expectations set out in Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions#Expectations of administrators. Violating these expectations may lead to sanctions.
6.1) Dismissing an enforcement request is an exercise of judgment and therefore constitutes an enforcement action. As such, once a request has been dismissed by an uninvolved administrator, it may not be reopened.
In these cases, any interested users may, after discussion with the administrator in question, appeal the dismissal to the Arbitration Committee at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Clarification and Amendment, but care should be taken that this only be done when appropriate. Petitioners who forum shop by resubmitting denied enforcement requests without good reason may find themselves cautioned or sanctioned in return.
7) Only the sanctioned editor may file an appeal against a sanction. Other editors may offer assistance, but the decision to appeal and the choice of venue may only be made by the sanctioned editor.
Appeals filed by any user other than the one sanctioned may be closed at any time. However, any interested users may ask for clarifications, if they are acting in good faith.
8) For the purpose of applying the special rules against modifying or overturning an enforcement action (see Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions#Appeals and modifications), all enforcement actions are presumed valid and proper until an appeal is successful.
9) Editors participating in enforcement cases and appeals must disclose fully their involvement, if any. While good-faith statements are welcome, editors are expected to discuss only evidence and procedure. Insults and personal attacks, soapboxing and casting aspersions are as unacceptable in enforcement discussions as elsewhere on Wikipedia. Uninvolved administrators are asked to ensure that enforcement cases are not disrupted.
1) The proximate cause of this dispute was a comment made by Eric Corbett ( talk · contribs) on his talk page which was reported to arbitration enforcement as a violation of the indefinite topic ban imposed on him as a result of the Interactions at GGTF case.
Upon reviewing the report, Black Kite ( talk · contribs) closed it with no action. At the time, no other uninvolved administrator had made any comments and the report had been open for only about five hours.
GorillaWarfare ( talk · contribs), aware of of the fact Black Kite had dismissed the report, overruled his decision and unilaterally blocked Eric for a month without discussion.
Black Kite subsequently opened an AN discussion regarding GorillaWarfare's block of Eric which was treated as an appeal, despite the fact that Eric at no time expressed any desire to appeal the restriction. The discussion was then closed by Reaper Eternal ( talk · contribs), who unblocked Eric, arguing that there [was] definitely no consensus [there] for a block; indeed, the results seem[ed] to show a slight consensus in favor of unblocking. A pure vote count show[ed] a 60/40 split in favor of unblocking.
2) The conduct of all administrators involved in the dispute was suboptimal.
Black Kite's actions had the effect of interfering with the enforcement of the Arbitration Committee's decision; in fact, since Eric's comment was a violation of his restriction and was not minor in nature, Black Kite should not have dismissed the enforcement request so quickly and without waiting for input from other uninvolved administrators
GorillaWarfare's actions fell foul of the rules set out in Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions#Appeals and modifications and in Wikipedia:Administrators#Reversing another administrator's action, namely the expectation that administrative actions should not be reversed without [...] a brief discussion with the administrator whose action is challenged.
Reaper Eternal's actions violated Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions#Appeals and modifications requiring, for an appeal to be successful, a request on the part of the sanctioned editor and the clear and substantial consensus of [...] uninvolved editors at AN.
Note: All remedies that refer to a period of time, for example to a ban of X months or a revert parole of Y months, are to run concurrently unless otherwise stated.
1) The Arbitration Committee delegates the drafters of this case to amend and clarify the text of the policy at Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Discretionary sanctions and the text on Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Enforcement to bring them in line with the clarifications contained in this decision.
0) Should any user subject to a restriction in this case violate that restriction, that user may be blocked, initially for up to one month, and then with blocks increasing in duration to a maximum of one year.
0) Appeals and modifications
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This procedure applies to appeals related to, and modifications of, actions taken by administrators to enforce the Committee's remedies. It does not apply to appeals related to the remedies directly enacted by the Committee.
Appeals may be made only by the editor under sanction and only for a currently active sanction. Requests for modification of page restrictions may be made by any editor. The process has three possible stages (see "Important notes" below). The editor may:
No administrator may modify or remove a sanction placed by another administrator without:
Administrators modifying sanctions out of process may at the discretion of the committee be desysopped. Nothing in this section prevents an administrator from replacing an existing sanction issued by another administrator with a new sanction if fresh misconduct has taken place after the existing sanction was applied. Administrators are free to modify sanctions placed by former administrators – that is, editors who do not have the administrator permission enabled (due to a temporary or permanent relinquishment or desysop) – without regard to the requirements of this section. If an administrator modifies a sanction placed by a former administrator, the administrator who made the modification becomes the "enforcing administrator". If a former administrator regains the tools, the provisions of this section again apply to their unmodified enforcement actions. Important notes:
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Any block, restriction, ban, or sanction performed under the authorisation of a remedy for this case must be logged at Wikipedia:Arbitration enforcement log, not here.