Wikipedia

Wikipedia:Update/1/Enforcement policy changes, July 2010 to December 2010

< Wikipedia:Update | 1
4th quarter 2010

  • Wikipedia:Administrators
    • In WP:ADMIN#History, added: [Rather, administrators should be a part of the community like other editors,] "with no special powers or privileges when acting as editors. Administrators are also expected to observe a high standard of conduct."








September 2010



  • Wikipedia:Protection policy
    • In WP:PROTECT#Permanent protection, added: "Files are indefinitely move-protected."
    • In WP:PROTECT#Pending-changes protection (trial), there were substantial changes.
    • In WP:PROTECT#Templates, changed: "Templates are like all pages in regard to protection, and are not protected unless there is a special reason to do so. Highly visible templates or templates in use on many pages are usually protected. Protection may be semi-protection or full protection, based on the degree of visibility, type of use, content, and other factors." to: "Highly visible templates which are used on an extremely large number of pages or substituted with great frequency may be semi- or fully protected based on the degree of visibility, type of use, content, and other factors."
    • The status of the WP:Pending changes trial was updated.


  • Wikipedia:Sock puppetry
    • Changed in the introduction: "Undisclosed alternative accounts should not be used to edit project discussions (e.g. policy debates and Arbitration proceedings)." [Previously, this applied to all alternative accounts.]
    • In WP:SOCK#Inappropriate uses of alternative accounts, added: [Contributing to the same page] "or discussion" [with multiple accounts]
    • Under the WP:CLEANSTART anchor, changed: "If you decide to make a fresh start and do not wish to be connected to a previous account, you can simply discontinue the old account(s) and create a new one that becomes the only account you use." to: "If you decide to make a fresh start, you can discontinue the old account(s) and create a new one that becomes the only account you use. Clean-start accounts should not return to old topic areas, editing patterns, or behavior previously identified as problematic, and should be careful not to do anything that looks like an attempt to evade scrutiny." Removed: "You are not obliged to reveal previous accounts". Changed: [Failure to notify the Arbitration Committee] "may be considered deceptive" to "is likely to be considered deceptive".
    • In WP:SOCK#Sockpuppet investigations, added: [If you believe someone is using sock puppets] "(or meat puppets)," [you should create a report ...]


  • Wikipedia:Username policy
    • In WP:U#Appropriate usernames, added: "Usernames should also not include the phrase "wikipedia", "wikimedia", "wiktionary", etc, which could imply the account was officially affiliated with the Foundation or one of its projects."
August 2010






Explicit use of a name or URL of a company, group or product as a username is not permitted. Your username should represent you. Accounts that represent an entire group or company are not permitted; see Sharing accounts below. Since usernames that are the name of a company or group create the appearance of intent to promote that group, accounts with a company or group name as a username are indefinitely blocked.
Avoid editing articles with which you may have a conflict of interest. You will need to carefully follow Wikipedia's guide to editing with a conflict of interest.
    • to:
Unambiguous use of a name or URL of a company, group or product as a username is not permitted. A username that is the name of a company or group implies the intent to promote this group. Accordingly, such usernames may be indefinitely blocked. Even if the name is ambiguous, accounts with a company or group name as a username may be indefinitely blocked if their editing behavior appears to be promotional.
Accounts that represent an entire group or company are not permitted no matter the name; see Sharing accounts below. Please note that promotional editing is not permitted regardless of user name, and avoid editing articles with which you may have a conflict of interest. If you choose to edit articles that are in any way related to your company or group, you will need to carefully follow Wikipedia's guide to editing with a conflict of interest.
July 2010


  • Wikipedia:Blocking policy
    • New section, WP:BLOCK#Child protection issues
    • In WP:BLOCK#Education and warnings, changed the last paragraph to: "However, note that warnings are not a prerequisite for blocking. Administrators should generally ensure that users who are acting in good faith are aware of policies and are given reasonable opportunity to adjust their behavior before blocking. On the other hand, users acting in bad faith, whose main or only use is forbidden activity (sockpuppetry, obvious vandalism, and so on), do not require any warning and may be blocked immediately."




  • Wikipedia:Sock puppetry
    • In WP:SOCK#Inappropriate uses of alternative accounts, changed the Deceptively seeking positions of community trust bullet point to: "You may not run for positions of trust without disclosing that you have previously edited under another account. Adminship reflects the community's trust in an individual, not an account, so when applying for adminship, it is expected that you will disclose past accounts openly, or to the arbitration committee if the accounts must be kept private. Administrators who fail to disclose past accounts risk being desysopped, particularly if knowledge of them would have influenced the outcome of the RfA." Some of this was borrowed from the Administrators with multiple accounts bullet point. Changed: "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." to: "Editing logged out in order to mislead: Editing under multiple IP addresses may be treated the same as editing under multiple accounts where it is done deceptively or otherwise violates the above principles."
    • In WP:SOCK#Sockpuppet investigations, added: "Only blocked accounts should be tagged as Category:Suspected Wikipedia sockpuppets and only upon sufficient evidence that would be stand up to scrutiny."



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