This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Splash (talk | contribs) at 21:25, 4 December 2005 (clarify anon stuff). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 21:25, 4 December 2005 by Splash (talk | contribs) (clarify anon stuff)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) | The following is a proposed Misplaced Pages policy, guideline, or process. The proposal may still be in development, under discussion, or in the process of gathering consensus for adoption. |
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Semi-protection of a page prevents the newest X% of registered users and all unregistered users from editing that page. Semi-protection will only be applied if the page in question is facing a serious vandalism problem. It is not an appropriate solution to editorial disputes of any kind since it may restrict some editors and not others. Administrators will thus apply semiprotection in the same manner as current protection against vandalism is applied — either on their own initiative or following an alert on an article's talk page, WP:RFPP, WP:AN/I or some other relevant page. Requests to lift semi-protection should generally be unnecessary in the same way that unprotection against simple vandalism at present is generally swiftly seen to by either the protecting admin or another. Generally, a simple note to the talk page or WP:AN/I should be sufficient, but WP:RFPP can be used if necessary. Articles that are semi-protected will be indicated with {{sprotected}} and listed at WP:PP in the same way as protections are at present. |
Suggested template (note the links):
| File:Lock-icon.jpg | To deal with vandalism, this page is temporarily protected from being edited by unregistered users and users with very new accounts. Please discuss changes on the talk page or request unprotection. |
Note that with full protection at present, anonymous editors are prevented from editing the article in the same way as are all non-admins. This proposal does not restrict unregistered editors more than they already are in the case of protection. This is not a proposal to prohibit anonymous editing.
Rationale
Many users have noticed and complained about the level of vandalism in high-profile articles, such as George W. Bush. In these frequently vandalized articles, for several hours a day, the article displays a vandalized version for the reader and editor alike. Instead of the text and images one would expect from a reputable encyclopedia, the reader discovers vulgarities and either incorrect or deliberately distasteful writing. Many of the edits to these high-profile articles are reversions of vandalism, from the most obvious blanking to the most subtle {{verror}} entries. Some articles, such as George W. Bush, receive few good edits; instead, they have turned into battlegrounds in which virtually every edit is either one by a vandal or one reverting vandalism. In these articles, so much time is wasted that nothing substantive can be done to improve the material or quality of information in the article. This situation tarnishes the reputation of Misplaced Pages and hampers the efforts of reputable editors. In short, we need a solution to this problem. That solution is semi-protection.
The idea behind semi-protection is very simple. It works like regular protection does now, except non-admins may edit a page, provided their account is not amongst the very newest, much like with moving a page. There is one additional level of protection proposed:
- 0. Open
- 1. Moves Prohibited
- 2. Editable only by registered users not in the newest X% of accounts
- 3. Full protection (Editable only by administrators)
The barrier should be low enough that editors who wish to contribute constructively need only wait a short time (on en.wikipedia, the newest 1% of accounts last about 4 days) to be fully-active. In the meantime, there should be plenty of fully-open articles for them to edit.
It has also been suggested that the main page be endowed with semi-protection, so that non-admins may have a greater hand in shaping the content, while eliminating most vandalism. Whatever the decision regarding this issue, it is clear that it should be used on relatively few pages, so as to keep the spirit of the wiki open. Only if further action is required will pages be semi-protected.
While this may seem to not be in the spirit of a wiki to some editors, please be assured that it is, in fact; the vast majority of pages will still be open and openly editable. A new editor will simply go onto another page, and will not be deterred; they can come back after they have made a few good edits. A decision was made along these lines not too long ago, regarding the idea of protecting the main page. Under this plan, templates and other protected items can be protected under #3, so that non-admins may be able to edit templates as well, furthering the spirit of the wiki.
Please note that this will not be the norm on all pages. We still want to keep the spirit of the wiki open and free, and implementing this will be a great tool in the war on vandalism, rather than a tool in the war on new users.
Discussion at the talk page.
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