Wikiversity:Bans

From Wikiversity

This page is a proposed Wikiversity policy, guideline, or process. The proposal may still be in development, under discussion, or in the process of gathering consensus for adoption. References or links to this page should only describe it as a "proposal".

Banning a Wikiversity participant from editing does not disable a user's ability to edit any page. Banning should not be confused with blocking.

Contents 1 Before proposing a ban 2 Bans 3 How bans are imposed 4 Grounds for imposing a ban 5 Enforcing bans 6 Bans at other Wikimedia projects 7 See also

[edit] Before proposing a ban

If you are unable to resolve a conflict with another Wikiversity participant on your own, you may request community feedback at Wikiversity:Community Review. The Wikiversity community may as a result of reviewing your case decide that a ban is necessary to resolve the conflict.

When requesting a community review, you must provide links demonstrating the problem, links that show attempts to resolve the problem on your own, and a detailed description of how the edits or actions may violate official policies or guidelines, or harms Wikiversity. You must also notify any users that you are discussing on their talk page, and notify any participants of the learning projects that could be effected by a community decision. If anyone decides to impose a ban during a community review, then the policy on bans must be followed.

See: Wikiversity:Community Review/Proposed policy

[edit] Bans

A ban is a community agreement that prohibits a person from editing one or more pages at Wikiversity for a specific duration of time.

[edit] How bans are imposed

Bans are rare and important decisions that require the widest possible involvement of the community. Bans are proposed by going to Wikiversity:Colloquium and and starting a new page section of the form "Proposed ban of user:X". When proposing a ban, links must be providing to edits made by the user who you propose to ban. A detailed description must be provided of how those edits constitute a violation of official Wikiversity policy. Specific grounds for imposing the ban (as listed in the following section) must be cited as the basis in policy for imposing the ban. The pages involved in the proposed ban and the duration of the ban must be clearly stated by the person proposing the ban. After being announced at the Colloquium page, the community discussion of the proposed ban can take place on another page. If a Community Review subpage is used, the page must be correctly named to indicate that a ban is under discussion. The community then discusses the proposed ban and if consensus is reached, the ban is imposed. Bans are never an emergency matter and discussion should not be rushed.

The user who is proposed to be banned from editing must be informed on their user talk page (and by email, if active) and allowed to participate in the community discussion of the ban. If the user is blocked from editing, it might be most convenient to hold the community discussion on the user's talk page.

A list of all imposed bans is kept at Wikiversity:Imposed bans along with a complete record of the community discussion that established consensus for the ban.

Note: Custodians have no special role to play in imposing bans at Wikiversity. Deciding on bans is a community function.

A ban must not be suggested lightly, as the very act itself can be seen as violating Wikiversity:Civility and Wikiversity:Assume Good Faith.

[edit] Grounds for imposing a ban

Bans can only be imposed for reasons that have been discussed by the Wikiversity community, agreed upon by consensus and formalized as part of an official Wikiversity policy.

Currently, the only basis for imposing a ban at Wikiversity is stated in the Wikiversity policy for Civility. According to the Civility Policy, the use of some words "a certain number of times" can result in a ban. This is a method for preventing incivility within Wikiversity and it involves the creation and enforcement of a new rule.

In order to impose a ban on an editor for using a particular word, the community must create and enforce a new rule. Each of these rules must be drafted at the Unwelcome words page and approved by a process involving community discussion and consensus. Censorship rules can take the form: "Editors can be banned from editing pages "w" for a time period of duration "x" if they use the word "y" more than "z" times.

In order to impose a ban on an editor for the use of unwelcome combinations of certain words, a new page section should be started at the Unwelcome words page where the offending edits are listed. Also listed are links to discussion on the offending user's talk page where they have been told why their past edits are uncivil. Evidence must be provided that the offending edits have continued after a warning that further such edits will result in a proposed ban. The community will then discuss the proposed ban. If the community decides that the listed "offending edits" were actually civil, then the person who proposed the ban will be punished for the serious violation the Civility Policy: calling for an unjustified ban.

Calling for bans at Wikiversity for any reason not listed in this page section is a violation of the civility policy.

[edit] Enforcing bans

During the specified duration of a ban, if a banned user edits a page that they are banned from editing then those banned edits can be reverted.

If the community decides to impose a ban, the pages involved in the ban, the duration of the ban, and the people who are banned must be clearly stated. If the community decides that a person should be banned from editing all pages, a custodian may block the person for the duration of the ban citing "community ban" as the reason.

[edit] Bans at other Wikimedia projects

Wikiversity participants who have been banned at other projects are welcome to participate constructively at Wikiversity.

[edit] See also

• Alternative proposal (inactive)
• /Alternate proposal (August, 2009)
• Banned user