GuildWiki talk:Quietly deal with vandals

+666 :O Cress Arvein 01:02, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Love it.reanor 17:25, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Agree, stop by quickly banning. RT | Talk - RFA 06:35, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Sheesh, if this were a policy already, Marco wouldn't have had that whole problem. I have to agree this is a good idea. [[Image:Entrea Sumatae.png]]Entrea Sumatae   [Talk]  23:16, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

Move
Wow. I've inspired policy discussions. It needs to be cleaned up and clarified a bit, I think, but obviously I approve of it as a policy. Move it, even if only for discussion. &mdash;♥ Jedi ♥ Rogue ♥ 19:22, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
 * LOL Turning this article into a policy will contradict itself.[[Image:Ereanorsign.jpg]]reanor 04:04, 11 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Why would it? I fail to comprehend. -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 05:53, 11 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Having a vandal policy is by itself giving vandals attention.[[Image:Ereanorsign.jpg]]reanor 05:57, 11 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Having a static vandal policy gives the subject of vandalism attention, but does not give individual vandals attention. Additionally, the goal of this policy isn't "to give zero attention to vandals at all", but rather "to minimize the attention given to the vandals".  Individual vandals in the very recent past has received way more attention than if all the users here follow this proposed policy.  Therefore the existence of this policy would reduce the level of attention vandals get, fulfilling its designed role. -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 06:05, 11 December 2007 (UTC)


 * You're right. But still, users with common sense follow this already, and users without common sense won't follow it even with a policy telling them to.[[Image:Ereanorsign.jpg]]reanor 06:13, 11 December 2007 (UTC)


 * At least half the users without common sense will still follow a policy in the future when it is pointed out to them after their first offense. That will be a huge improvement already. -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 06:31, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I was once a vandal and I still admit it WAS fun, but i grew up. So just give them second chances you never know who'll come around. Yes i agree with this completely they come to get attention, by doing it quietly they lose all motivation to do it. --Holylorgor 06:33, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I get the strange suspicion that I might be on some people's minds Blue.rellik 06:35, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Controling them?[[Image:Ereanorsign.jpg]]reanor 06:36, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
 * No, I meant one of the people this page is referring to. I do have the habit of getting into fights with vandals Blue.rellik 06:37, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I think this policy is a good idea, but the trol template might not be so good (people might think it's a joke) RT | Talk 06:38, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

(ri) The troll template is a remnant from when this was just something I was brainstorming on in my userspace. It is related but I don't think it belongs right on top. Anyway, I've been referring to this as GW:QDV assuming it becomes official. I still wanna touch up the wording on it... &mdash;♥ Jedi ♥ Rogue ♥ 07:39, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
 * What about GW:DEAL? RT | Talk 07:40, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I think GW:QDwV would be awesome :D. --Hellbringer loves emo slut druggies (T/C) 23:26, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
 * GW:DEAL is an easier name to remember for the average user in my opinion. I also support this policy, it makes a lot of sense --<font face="vivaldi" size="3"> Shadow crest   02:14, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

modifying and rewording
The purpose of point 6 was to say that its none of your business if someone was banned. The ban should be between the admin and the person who was banned. If they were unjustly banned and want something done about it, they should be the one to contact an admin. I would assume that other admins would keep an eye on block logs to see if their fellows are abusing their power but the assumption is also that admins are chosen because they can be trusted. Point 8 contradicts this. I think that point 6 should be clarified so that it doesn't prevent people from pointing out an erroneous ban but also states where the discussion should occur and how. Basically, I think 8 and 6 need to be reworded for clarity. Thoughts?

I also feel like here it should be pointed out that policies need to be obeyed in spirit not to the letter. The purpose of this would be to remind that arguing over technicalities shouldn't be tolerated. &mdash;<font color=#ff44aa>♥ Jedi ♥ Rogue ♥ 19:49, 11 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Well, I trust my fellow admins, so I'm not gonna babysit their actions to see if they are abusing their power. On the other hand, admins are humans, and humans make mistakes.  While I don't recall exactly, I most likely have erroneously banned someone in the history of GuildWiki.  Point 6 says don't go into a big lengthy discussion, but it doesn't completely forbid ppl from talking about it.  Point 8 says clearly and concisely explain at the admin notice board, and don't go into the nitty gritties.  I think those are the focuses of points 6 and 8 (and the focuses themselves do not contradict each other even if the apparent wording might feel like it).  Hope that helps you figure out how to reword things. -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 20:58, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I think that it has to be noted that this policy is designed to deal with vandalism. If the account/IP who is banned is truly undeserving of the ban, then it shouldn't become an issue. I think I'll have to have a closer look at where GWW is having issues with their confusing admins and consider what (btw, someone in my ethics class as talking something about TOR and getting IPs easier? idk, warrents research. wanted to spit it out before i forget). ok, I'm gonna look at some dialogs here and on GWW and see if I can come up with a few use cases that should help refine this policy. &mdash; ♥ Jedi ♥ Rogue ♥ 23:23, 11 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Although I trust my fellow admins, I do make it a point to check on their actions via the Master Log anyways - but it is only because I need to know what is going on and what has happened recently in case any related incident should occur.
 * As to this policy - I support it, although I have some slight reservations about "Malicious vandals...are not stopped by warnings" (paraphrase). Now, obviously it's up to individual interpretation of just how bad "malicious" is, but I believe that should some user choose to give a (non-inflammatory) warning, they should not be penalized for it, or pointed to this policy as an example of why such actions are bad. A benign, non-trollish warning can only do good, even if it is "no good". If nothing else, it serves as a historical reference. [[Image:Entropy Sig.jpg]] (T/C) 17:22, 12 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Well I wasn't planning on banning anybody for breaking this policy, unless they start having a party on the vandal's talk page... Go ahead and reword stuff. My personal inclination is a 3-day ban won't do less good than a verbal warning when it comes to real vandals, and the ban's effect is more immediate. -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 17:36, 12 December 2007 (UTC)
 * The purpose of the policy is primarily to have a way to describe how we respond to vandalism. If it is iffy if it is unintentional or if its an IP/account that doesn't contribute only vandalism, then perhaps we can work out a warning. I don't like the idea of simply saying don't vandalize because it says to the vandal "we see what you're doing. its vandalism. you have our attention." So to say stop vandalizing would acknowledge that both the vandal and the person posting the warning already know its vandalism. It only gives too much attention to the vandal and the vandalism. This is really only to apply to what is obvious vandalism (ie, what happened to Jennalee's page). For cases of blanking or other things where it is possible that the perpetrator may not know any better or may not realize what they are doing, a warning worded carefully can still inform them without challenging. "Hi, you appear to have blanked such and such a page. Please be more careful with your edits because it can be construed as vandalism which is a bannable offense." In this way, innocent people get their warning, but a true vandal's crime is reduced to an accident or similar. It does not credit them as vandals but suggests that they don't know any better. Should this become a challenge, it will only serve to identify them as a true vandal which is easy to see how to deal with them, or stop them.
 * We can't truly stop them if they keep changing their ips and stuff. We can only make it so that there is no reward for them if they do it. If a person truly wants to make positive contributions to the wiki, then they can't hang around as vandals.
 * That being said, the reason for all bans should be clearly cited. Perhaps a simple policy which points out some obvious things which count as vandalism could be written. Like NPA, it could list simple issues which are considered vandalism so they can be sited. It doesn't have to go over the top.
 * Also, consider that a ban template could also be used as a warning. It doesn't speak to the vandal but is to speak to an admin. If we put it on their talk page, it comes to their attention and still serves as a notice. This does not dignify them with actual response but may well work. &mdash; ♥ Jedi ♥ Rogue ♥ 18:37, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

...Alright, I rewrote this somewhat and I think it now reflects on what people have said. I believe it is ready to be moved to a full policy. (T/C) 18:04, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

Example of why this needs to become a policy
-- (Talk) (Contr.) 03:08, 12 December 2007 (UTC)
 * No, that's an example of why we should deal quietly with vandals.[[Image:Ereanorsign.jpg]]<strong style="color: black;">reanor 09:51, 12 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Awe MP, but then where will we get our kicks for the day if we aren't allowed to toy along with our vandals? Game of cat and mouse anyone?  All kidding aside, I think this is a great implementation, and hopefully it will help out everyone on this wiki.  [[Image:Isk8.png]]Isk8 09:59, 12 December 2007 (UTC)
 * If you really want to, and if GWW does not have a similar policy, then you can play with the vandals there. Until they decide to institute a similar policy that is.  Get on an IRC channel with ops around, start swearing, and you'll get kicked.  Don't tell them I send you there. -User:PanSola (talk to the [[Image:follower of Lyssa.png]]) 10:19, 12 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree that this should be an offical policy, and it would stop people breaking the GW:NPA towards vandals. --[[Image:Warwick sig.JPG]] <font face="vivaldi" size="4">Warwick (Talk)/(Contr. ) 12:15, 15 December 2007 (UTC)