This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 72.137.20.109 (talk) at 00:36, 21 September 2006 (Remove inert template per TfD). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 00:36, 21 September 2006 by 72.137.20.109 (talk) (Remove inert template per TfD)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) WP:WW redirects here; you may also be looking for Misplaced Pages:Avoid weasel words (shortcut: WP:AWW). | This page documents an English Misplaced Pages ]. Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page. |
]
 | This page in a nutshell: Contact the administrator if you disagree with one of his/her actions. Gain consensus before reverting the administrative actions of others. Do not repeatedly revert administrative actions done by a specific administrator or administrative actions done to a specific article. |
A wheel war is a struggle between two or more admins in which they undo another's administrative actions — in particular, unblocking or reblocking a user; undeleting or redeleting; or unprotecting and reprotecting an article.
Just as edit warring is considered harmful and needlessly divisive, wheel warring is not considered good behaviour for an administrator. Since Misplaced Pages works on the spirit of consensus, disputes should be settled through civil discussion rather than power wrestling. Wheel wars occur when administrators get too distressed to discuss something, or when an administrator takes it upon him or herself to undo another admin's actions without consultation, or deliberately ignores an existing discussion (often at WP:ANI or WP:DRV) to implement their preferred version.
Jimbo Wales has said that "wheel warring is a very bad thing, and the culture around it needs to change."
Preferred behavior is:
- If you think something is a good idea, do it.
- If people disagree, take a step back and discuss it.
Undoing blocks
The blocking policy specifically cautions against undoing another admin's block: "If you disagree with a block placed by another admin, please contact that admin to discuss the matter."
Enforcement
Most editors (and admins) tend to agree that wheel wars are not good. Sometimes, admins are temporarily blocked for wheel warring, but this can result in a wheel war itself if the blocked admin or a friend undoes the block. Temporary desysoping may be used as a measure to deter and halt wheel wars. Wheel warring has been used as grounds for sanctions by the ArbCom in a few cases (), some of which have resulted in users having to re-apply for adminship and others being stripped without that option.