Halopedia:Blocking policy: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:21, August 18, 2010

Block Policy

Blocks are used to deal with vandalism, bots, and inappropriate usernames.

There are three types of blocks:

User accounts
Anonymous IPs
IP ranges.

Sysops have the technical ability to block any of these for any period of time, but such blocks should follow our blocking policy.

When blocks may be used

Blocks are most frequently used to deal with vandalism. There are several other less common situations where blocks are appropriate, which are listed below.

Vandalism

Sysops may, at their judgment, block IP addresses that vandalize the Wiki. For dynamic IPs, such blocks should last at least 24 hours. For static IPs, such blocks should initially last 24 hours, but repeat violators may be blocked for longer periods; there are various rules of thumb that sysops follow in how much to extend the blocks of habitual vandals, none of which are formal policy. In general, casual vandals should be warned before being blocked, though warnings are not usually given for deliberate vandalism intended to discredit the wiki or serve an activist agenda.

Logged-in users that do essentially nothing but vandalism may also be blocked for the same time periods. However, user accounts that perform a mixture of valid edits and vandalism should not be blocked in this manner, but be warned with the {{Warning}} template.

Disruption

Sysops may, at their judgment, block any user that disrupt the normal functioning of the wiki constantly. Such disruption is to be objectively defined by specific policies, and may include changing other users' signed comments, making deliberately misleading edits, plain vandalism, profanity, etc. Users should be warned that they are violating policy before they are blocked. For dynamic IPs, such blocks should last 24 hours. For static IPs and user names, such blocks should initially last 24 hours, but repeat violators may be blocked for longer as conditions merit.

Sysops may also block new user accounts that immediately make many disruptive edits, for any length of time or permanently, at their discretion. "Sockpuppets", or multiple accounts of the same person, should be blocked permanently. However, blocks should not be used against isolated incidents of disruption from IP addresses nor against user accounts that make a mixture of disruptive and useful edits.

Reincarnations of blocked disruptive users will be reblocked if they continue being disruptive, or if they edit in a way which suggests they are likely to continue being disruptive – such as "YOU CANT BLOCK ME!!11!!" or "JOIN ME IN MY FIGHT TO DESTROY THE WIKI!1!!1!!"

Usernames

Inflammatory, deliberately confusing, and other inappropriate usernames are not allowed, and in certain circumstances, sysops may block accounts permanently with such usernames.

Sysops can force a namechange by blocking the username (with an expiry time of infinite). The blocking sysop should include a note regarding the username violation in the "reason" field, along with a link to the user talk page where the matter was discussed. If a user page has already been created, any user may add an explanation of why the user was blocked and a link to the talk page on the blocked user's userpage. It is not advisable to create user pages or talk pages for users with offensive usernames – bureaucrats are likely to rename the users to something generic, like "Null001", "Null002", etc.

Care should be taken to unblock the user's IP address. To unblock the IP but not the username, wait until the user next tries to edit a page, and something like #1234 was blocked because they share an IP with OldUserName will appear at Special:Ipblocklist. Click "unblock" next to that number. Then the user can log in under their new name.

If an account has been blocked both for vandalism and for having an inappropriate username, the IP should be left auto-blocked.

Impersonation

Usernames that are designed to impersonate legitimate users may be blocked immediately and indefinitely. The IP address of these users should be left autoblocked. Accounts and IP addresses that illegitimately use another account's name in the signature should be warned first, and then can be blocked.

Please be sure that the account is a malicious impersonator before blocking it; someone might choose a name similar to that of another user without any ill intent. Use common sense. If the suspected impersonators are vandalizing, flaming other users, or otherwise acting with malice, then they should be blocked immediately. If they are making legitimate edits, they should be told of the possible confusion and encouraged to change usernames.

"Public" accounts

Wiki convention is that accounts with a specific name, but created for general public use by multiple people, are not to be used. These are seen as pretending to a reputation as an individual within the project, while masking anonymity. Public accounts are not considered necessary because anyone can quickly create a username without even an email address being required.

Examples include any account where the owner posts the password for public use. These may be blocked on sight indefinitely, with the block message pointing out that public accounts are not needed.

As an alternative, when confirming that the password is public, it is quite simple and often creates less fuss to just go into Special:Preferences and change the password. This makes the password no longer public, and can also be done by anyone, not just a sysop.

Bots

Bots are currently not allowed (except by developers, of course) and should be blocked indefinitely.

When blocking may not be used

The list above is widely considered to be an exhaustive list of the situations that warrant blocking. Blocking should not be used in any other circumstances, unless there is exceptional widespread community support.

Use of blocks to gain advantage in a content dispute, and self-blocking in an effort to enforce a "Wikiholiday" or departure are specifically prohibited. Likewise, users should not block those with whom they are currently engaged in conflict.

Sysops should not block themselves (to enforce a "vacation" on themselves, for instance) because the resultant "autoblock" may affect other users (see Effects of being blocked, below).

Effects of being blocked

Blocked users can still see all Wiki pages, but the "edit" link brings up a "User is blocked" page which explains the reason behind the block and gives information on how to request unblocking. This page includes the "reason" message supplied by the administrator who placed the block. Links and template includes all work as normal in the "reason" section.

The duration of the block depends on the expiry time that was entered at the time of the block, which may be "indefinite" or "infinite" (ie, until explicitly unblocked).

When a blocked user attempts to edit, the IP from which they are editing is "autoblocked," so that they may not make the same edit anonymously or under a different user name. There is an internal autoblock expiry time variable, which is set to 24 hours, meaning that when a username is blocked indefinitely, their IP will be automatically unblocked 24 hours after they last accessed a page.

Note that blocking does not in any way restrict any feature other than normal article editing: normal users can still read articles, as well as adjust their watchlists and user preferences. Administrators and bureaucrats can continue to use all of their respective features: add and remove blocks, roll back vandalism, make someone a sysop, etc.

Accidental blocks

Occasionally, users with floating IPs will find that they have been blocked accidentally, because their present IP was previously used by a vandal or hard-banned user. These blocks will disappear if IP change can be forced. If that is not possible, the block should be reported to the nearest friendly sysop via email - see the list of sysops for some likely candidates.

Users who act so as to impersonate a previously banned user, to impersonate a known vandal, or to pretend to be engaging in vandalism, are also likely to be accidentally blocked. To avoid this problem, do not act in this way. "Don't do that then". It is good practice to edit so as to demonstrate your trustworthiness, not to put up a facade of untrustworthiness.

How to block

Sysops may go to Special pages and select the "Block user" link. This takes them to Special:Blockip, which has further instructions. Special:Blockip is also accessible via the [block] link that appears next to each non-logged in user on recent changes.

The "reason" that the administrator fills in will be displayed to the blocked user when they attempt to edit, as well as appearing in the block log and the block list.

Expiry times are entered in the GNU standard format, which is described in the tar manual. Alternatively, a block may be "indefinite" or "infinite", meaning the block is permanent, until a sysop explicitly unblocks the account.

If a sysop does not enter an expiry time, he or she will see an error message.

Range blocks

Range blocks are sometimes used when a vandal or disruptive user has been IP blocked on several occasions but responds by using a different IP address. In most cases, range blocks will affect at least some legitimate users. Therefore, range blocks should only be used when the disruptive behavior is frequent and severe enough to make other methods ineffective. This is a matter of judgement, and the likely number of legitimate users that might be affected should be considered.

When used, range blocks should be as brief as possible.

The range block feature is difficult to use correctly because it requires an understanding of binary arithmetic. It has certain limitations inherent in its implementation, requiring the starting and ending addresses to be an exact multiple of the distance between them, which must be a power of two. For details, see range blocks.

Unblocking

Special:Ipblocklist contains a list of all currently blocked users and IPs. Sysops will see a link to [unblock] next to each user. After clicking this, you should type in the reason that you are unblocking the user and then click the Unblock this address button. Sysops are able to unblock themselves by following this procedure.

Sysops may unblock users if:

They were blocked in violation of this policy.
The reason for blocking no longer applies.
The block has lasted too long.
In other appropriate cases

There are no hard and fast guidelines on unblocking, hence the "in other appropriate cases" guidance. Sysops must use their common sense and good judgement.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Shortcut|H:BP}}
+''Also see [[Halopedia:Vandalism]]''.
-{{Policy}}
-{{Policies}}
-A user is '''blocked''' when they are banned from contributing to Halopedia completely. They can still view pages, but they cannot edit pages, talk pages, log in, or create a new account. Blocking is done to maintain the smooth function of Halopedia and as preventative action against vandals, and violation of [[Halopedia:About|Wiki Etiquette]].
-A user or IP may only be blocked by an [[Halopedia:Administrators|administrator]]. Blocking can last for different periods of time depending on the infractions.
+== Block Policy ==
+'''Blocks''' are used to deal with vandalism, bots, and inappropriate usernames.
-==Reasons for being blocked==
+There are three types of blocks:
-===Vandalism===
+*User accounts
-'''Vandalism''' is the most common cause for blocking on [[Halopedia]]. Vandalism is any addition, deletion, or change of content made in a deliberate attempt to compromise the integrity of Halopedia. The most common type of vandalism is the replacement of existing text with obscenities, page blanking, or the insertion of bad jokes or other nonsense. Fortunately, this kind of vandalism is usually easy to spot. Vandalism also includes adding spam links to pages, and deliberately falsifying information on the page by changing dates, names, or other information.
+*Anonymous IPs
+*IP ranges.
+[[Halopedia:Administrators|Sysops]] have the technical ability to block any of these for any period of time, but such blocks should follow our blocking policy.
-Note that in order for something to be considered vandalism, it must be done in "bad faith". Though the Internet makes it difficult to determine a person's intentions, problems such as those listed above are obviously done in bad faith for whatever reason. Other problems, such as users testing their abilities to edit, making accidental mistakes, and learning wiki markup, are less clear cut &mdash; they can easily be attributed to a new user with good intentions who just does not know how Halopedia works. In this instance, you should instead kindly inform that user of how to properly use editing tools to help them along.
+== When blocks may be used ==
+Blocks are most frequently used to deal with vandalism.  There are several other less common situations where blocks are appropriate, which are listed below.
-There is no warning required for vandalism. Vandals are usually blocked on the spot, the time ranges from 2 weeks to a month depending on the extent of the vandalism attributed to that user. Vandalism of multiple pages sometimes warrants longer blocking periods of three months.
+=== Vandalism ===
+Sysops may, at their judgment, block IP addresses that vandalize the Wiki. For dynamic IPs, such blocks should last at least 24 hours. For static IPs, such blocks should initially last 24 hours, but repeat violators may be blocked for longer periods; there are various rules of thumb that sysops follow in how much to extend the blocks of habitual vandals, none of which are formal policy.  In general, casual vandals should be warned before being blocked, though warnings are not usually given for deliberate vandalism intended to discredit the wiki or serve an activist agenda.
-===Contributing persistent fanfiction===
+Logged-in users that do essentially nothing but vandalism may also be blocked for the same time periods.  However, user accounts that perform a mixture of valid edits and vandalism should not be blocked in this manner, but be warned with the {{tem|Warning}} template.
-Halopedia's [[Halopedia:Canon Policy|Canon Policy]] clearly states that Halopedia is only for ''Halo'' canon. '''Fanfiction''' is any item or detail that was not officially sanctioned by [[Bungie Studios]] or its affiliates, and is thus not canon. Contributing fanfiction, whether it is well known or from one person, is unacceptable on Halopedia.
-Contributing persistent fanfiction is different from vandalism in several ways. First, it is not necessarily done in "bad faith" and so contributors found doing this are not instantly blocked after their first offense. Second, persistent contributors will receive two warnings of some kind from an administrator. This way, the user will have the opportunity to present their sources and correct any mistakes. If the user continues to contribute fanfiction after the second warning, the contributions are considered deleterious to Halopedia and the user will be blocked.
+=== Disruption ===
+Sysops may, at their judgment, block any user that disrupt the normal functioning of the wiki constantly. Such disruption is to be objectively defined by specific policies, and may include changing other users' signed comments, making deliberately misleading edits, plain vandalism, profanity, etc. Users should be warned that they are violating policy before they are blocked. For dynamic IPs, such blocks should last 24 hours. For static IPs and user names, such blocks should initially last 24 hours, but repeat violators may be blocked for longer as conditions merit.
-Blocking for this infraction is done in the judgment of an administrator. Blocking times vary depending on the situation.
+Sysops may also block new user accounts that immediately make many disruptive edits, for any length of time or permanently, at their discretion. "Sockpuppets", or multiple accounts of the same person, should be blocked permanently. However, blocks should not be used against isolated incidents of disruption from IP addresses nor against user accounts that make a mixture of disruptive and useful edits.
-===Creating pointless pages===
+Reincarnations of blocked disruptive users will be reblocked if they continue being disruptive, or if they edit in a way which suggests they are likely to continue being disruptive &ndash; such as "YOU CANT BLOCK ME!!11!!" or "JOIN ME IN MY FIGHT TO DESTROY THE WIKI!1!!1!!"
-Pages that have nothing to do with the ''Halo'' universe create problems for the community. The [[Halopedia:What Halopedia is not|What Halopedia is not]] page does a good job of outlining what kind of content is irrelevant and should not be created on Halopedia. A user who created these pages should be warned about them; note that sometimes information is related to Halo in an indirect way, so a page may not be as pointless as it initially seems.
-Repeated creation of pointless pages will result in blocking ranging from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the extent of the infraction.
+=== Usernames ===
+Inflammatory, deliberately confusing, and other inappropriate usernames are not allowed, and in certain circumstances, sysops may block accounts permanently with such usernames.
-===Harassment and personal attacks===
+Sysops can force a namechange by blocking the username (with an expiry time of infinite). The blocking sysop should include a note regarding the username violation in the "reason" field, along with a link to the user talk page where the matter was discussed. If a user page has already been created, any user may add an explanation of why the user was blocked and a link to the talk page on the blocked user's userpage. It is not advisable to create user pages or talk pages for users with offensive usernames &ndash; bureaucrats are likely to rename the users to something generic, like "Null001", "Null002", etc.
-Halopedia has made a clear policy on its [[Halopedia:About|About]] page that harassment and personal attacks are not tolerated. Halopedia must have a positive atmosphere so that users can contribute and cooperate in a way that is constructive. Harassment and personal attacks not only drive away potential users, but also damage Halopedia by making it a less people-friendly place.
-Harassment is a serious infraction on Halopedia. Refrain from making personal attacks on another user, even when confronting them about the issues stated above. Users who harass and attack others will be banned for an extended period of time, ranging from a month to a year to an indefinite ban.
+Care should be taken to unblock the user's IP address. To unblock the IP but not the username, wait until the user next tries to edit a page, and something like ''#1234 was blocked because they share an IP with OldUserName'' will appear at [[Special:Ipblocklist]]. Click "unblock" next to that number. Then the user can log in under their new name.
-===Point system abuse===
+If an account has been blocked both for vandalism ''and'' for having an inappropriate username, the IP should be left auto-blocked.
-Halopedia is one of few wikis with a [[Help:User Levels|point system]] based on military ranks. Also referred to as "point whoring", abusing the system is when users deliberately make multiple edits on the same page to gain points or advance ranks. Whether this is done on a single article or multiple times, abusing the Halopedia point system will lead to a ban.
-[[Category:Help]]
+==== Impersonation ====
+Usernames that are designed to impersonate legitimate users may be blocked immediately and indefinitely. The IP address of these users should be left autoblocked. Accounts and IP addresses that illegitimately use another account's name in the signature should be warned first, and then can be blocked.
+Please be sure that the account is a ''malicious'' impersonator before blocking it; someone might choose a name similar to that of another user without any ill intent. Use common sense. If the suspected impersonators are vandalizing, flaming other users, or otherwise acting with malice, then they should be blocked immediately. If they are making legitimate edits, they should be told of the possible confusion and encouraged to change usernames.
+=== "Public" accounts ===
+Wiki convention is that accounts with a specific name, but created for general public use by multiple people, are not to be used. These are seen as pretending to a reputation as an individual within the project, while masking anonymity. Public accounts are not considered necessary because anyone can quickly create a username without even an email address being required.
+Examples include any account where the owner posts the password for public use. These may be blocked on sight indefinitely, with the block message pointing out that public accounts are not needed.
+As an alternative, when confirming that the password is public, it is quite simple and often creates less fuss to just go into [[Special:Preferences]] and change the password. This makes the password no longer public, and can also be done by anyone, not just a sysop.
+=== Bots ===
+Bots are currently not allowed (except by developers, of course) and should be blocked indefinitely.
+== When blocking may not be used ==
+The list above is widely considered to be an exhaustive list of the situations that warrant blocking. Blocking should not be used in any other circumstances, unless there is exceptional widespread community support.
+Use of blocks to gain advantage in a content dispute, and self-blocking in an effort to enforce a "Wikiholiday" or departure are specifically prohibited. Likewise, users should not block those with whom they are currently engaged in conflict.
+Sysops should not block themselves (to enforce a "vacation" on themselves, for instance) because the resultant "autoblock" may affect other users (see [[#Effects of being blocked|Effects of being blocked]], below).
+== Effects of being blocked ==
+Blocked users can still see all Wiki pages, but the "edit" link brings up a "[[MediaWiki:Blockedtext|User is blocked]]" page which explains the reason behind the block and gives information on how to request unblocking.  This page includes the "reason" message supplied by the administrator who placed the block.  Links and template includes all work as normal in the "reason" section.
+The duration of the block depends on the expiry time that was entered at the time of the block, which may be "indefinite" or "infinite" (ie, until explicitly unblocked).
+When a blocked user attempts to edit, the IP from which they are editing is "autoblocked," so that they may not make the same edit anonymously or under a different user name.  There is an internal autoblock expiry time variable, which is set to 24 hours, meaning that when a username is blocked indefinitely, their IP will be automatically unblocked 24 hours after they last accessed a page.
+Note that blocking does not in any way restrict any feature other than normal article editing: normal users can still read articles, as well as adjust their watchlists and user preferences. Administrators and bureaucrats can continue to use all of their respective features: add and remove blocks, roll back vandalism, make someone a sysop, etc.
+== Accidental blocks ==
+Occasionally, users with floating IPs will find that they have been blocked accidentally, because their present IP was previously used by a vandal or hard-banned user. These blocks will disappear if IP change can be forced. If that is not possible, the block should be reported to the nearest friendly sysop via email - see the [[Special:Listusers/sysop|list of sysops]] for some likely candidates.
+Users who act so as to impersonate a previously banned user, to impersonate a known vandal, or to pretend to be engaging in vandalism, are also likely to be accidentally blocked. To avoid this problem, do not act in this way. "[http://www.jargon.net/jargonfile/d/Dontdothatthen.html Don't do that then]". It is good practice to edit so as to demonstrate your trustworthiness, not to put up a facade of untrustworthiness.
+== How to block ==
+Sysops may go to [[Special:Specialpages|Special pages]] and select the "Block user" link. This takes them to [[Special:Blockip]], which has further instructions. [[Special:Blockip]] is also accessible via the [block] link that appears next to each non-logged in user on [[Special:Recentchanges|recent changes]].
+The "reason" that the administrator fills in will be displayed to the blocked user when they attempt to edit, as well as appearing in the [[Special:Log/block|block log]] and the [[Special:Ipblocklist|block list]].
+Expiry times are entered in the GNU standard format, which is described in the [http://www.gnu.org/software/tar/manual/html_chapter/tar_7.html tar manual]. Alternatively, a block may be "indefinite" or "infinite", meaning the block is permanent, until a sysop explicitly unblocks the account.
+If a sysop does not enter an expiry time, he or she will see an error message.
+== Range blocks ==
+Range blocks are sometimes used when a vandal or disruptive user has been IP blocked on several occasions but responds by using a different IP address.  In most cases, range blocks will affect at least some legitimate users.  Therefore, range blocks should only be used when the disruptive behavior is frequent and severe enough to make other methods ineffective.  This is a matter of judgement, and the likely number of legitimate users that might be affected should be considered.
+When used, range blocks should be as brief as possible.
+The range block feature is difficult to use correctly because it requires an understanding of binary arithmetic.  It has certain limitations inherent in its implementation, requiring the starting and ending addresses to be an exact multiple of the distance between them, which must be a power of two.  For details, see [[MetaWikipedia:Range blocks|range blocks]].
+== Unblocking ==
+[[Special:Ipblocklist]] contains a list of all currently blocked users and IPs. Sysops will see a link to [unblock] next to each user. After clicking this, you should type in the reason that you are unblocking the user and then click the ''Unblock this address'' button. Sysops are able to unblock themselves by following this procedure.
+Sysops may unblock users if:
+* They were blocked in violation of this policy.
+* The reason for blocking no longer applies.
+* The block has lasted too long.
+* In other appropriate cases
+There are no hard and fast guidelines on unblocking, hence the "in other appropriate cases" guidance. Sysops must use their common sense and good judgement.
+== See also ==
+* [[Special:Ipblocklist]] (a list of currently blocked users)
+* [[Special:Log/block|Block log]]
+[[Category:Halopedia Policy|{{PAGENAME}}]]