User:Kylu/IRC

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An Intermediate Primer on Wikipedia

1. Introduction

   There are many ways to find instruction for beginners regarding the use of Wikipedia, but so many times we lose our way trying to find advanced instruction. There are, of course, innumerable WikiProjects and subpages of someone's talkpage which seem, somehow, to become noticeboards of some sort.

2. When you get sick of editing for a bit
   1. Deletion process
   2. Stub sorting
   3. WikiProjects
   4. Dispute Resolution and Advocacy
   5. Backlogs
   6. Wikibreak
3. Adminship
   1. The RfA process
   2. Standards for Adminship
   3. Determining suitability
   4. Things you can do
      1. Button use in a nutshell
      2. Lead by example, not rhetoric
      3. Assisting with administrative backlogs
   5. Things to NOT do

      Many things will not help your standing as either an administrator or as an editor. Please don't confuse these actions with being Rouge, these are just Bad Ideas which will give you headaches.

      1. Blocking established users without consensus
      2. Being Bold in the MediaWiki: namespace
      3. Editing others scripting pages
      4. See yourself as better than others
      5. Stop writing articles
4. Legal Issues

   If it comes up, the majority of the time Wikipedia legal issues are decided under the laws of Florida. If you have a legal question you just don't know how to deal with that regards Wikipedia, contact User:Brad Patrick.

   1. U.S. Law and the nature of corporations

      Wikimedia is a company. Wikimedia's first loyalty is to itself: If you put Wikimedia in a position where it has to choose between continuing its existance and protecting you, you lose. This is normal, don't feel offended. You don't have to owe Wikimedia any specific loyalty either, though respecting the fact that it's graciously allowing you to edit might be appreciated.

   2. Articles on Living Persons

      Please read, then reread, WP:BLP. If you make a mistake and post your personal feelings on a public figure on that persons article, or you put false information in the article (even on accident) you're likely to soon be a target of that person's legal wrath. Don't forget that if the Foundation receives a subpoena for your IP address, they won't hesitate to deliver the information. Nobody's going to go to jail because you want to defame a public figure.

   3. Defamation, Libel, and Slander against others
   4. Personal Information and Privacy Violations
   5. Intimidation and Assault
   6. Copyright and Fair Use
5. Off-Wikipedia Interactions
   1. General Notes

      When you do anything on Wikipedia, even if the cause for your discovery of the situation is based on off-Wiki reports and speculation, you cannot claim off-Wiki discussions as the basis for consensus. There is no such thing as consensus off-Wiki

      Do not claim that someone elsewhere told you to do something.

      If you perform an action and claim someone off-wiki said you should do something, what you're saying is that you performed your action with no reasonable justification. Obviously, this should be avoided.

      Do not say Oh, we talked about this on IRC (or elsewhere).

      Really. It just pisses people off. Nobody has ever said this on-wiki and have the situation not turn into a shitstorm. Plenty of our editors simply feel that IRC is nothing more than a den of iniquity, and it's laughably simple to move the problem to a different venue.

      Protocols are not evil.

      All Internet protocols (Email, IM's, IRC, etc...) are helpful and useful for different purposes. None of them are "dangerous" to you nor inherently more counterproductive than others. Suggesting that Wikipedians should not use any given protocol will (again) simply piss people off.

      Conspiracy is evil.

      Please don't conspire with others to cause harm to other editors, either by baiting them into breaking rules or by brainstorming methods to rid yourselves of someone you don't like. It doesn't do any good. If you have a problem with an editor, either avoid them or try to resolve it using the [[WP:DR|dispute resolution process].

      1. Things to encourage (DO's)
      2. Things to discourage (DONT's)
      3. Admin-specific actions

         Emergency blocks based on off-wiki conversations

         It's a bad idea, and will lead to your desysopping if you're not exceedingly careful. Let those who don't need to read this primer handle it.

         If your attention is brought to a situation that, after review, seems to require a block, always remember that you may well be hearing only one side of the story.

         Administrative actions should have on-Wikipedia reasoning.

         If your friend asks you to delete a page in his personal namespace, tell him to apply {{db-author}} or {{db-owner}} first.

         If someone says a user is vandalizing pages and needs to be blocked, have that person apply a warning template first, then go over the contributions. Just pretend IRC isn't there. As far as Wikipedia is concerned, it's not there.

         Blocking people due to something they did to you off Wikipedia is not acceptable.

         Period. This simply isn't excusable.

   2. IRC - Internet Relay Chat

      While IRC can be a helpful tool to both beginning users (#wikipedia-bootcamp) and experienced users (#wikipedia-spotlight, see also Wikipedia:Spotlight), the same issues that plague other medium of communication are prevalent here as well, especially given the private nature of IRC communications.

      1. Freenode and IRC policy

         While IRC is not Wiki*edia, keep in mind that the same basic standards of behaviour do apply. from m:IRC guidelines

      2. Being a catalyst

         From freenode philosophy: catalysts

         The "catalyst" role is critical to freenode and an essential building block of channels. No one is required to be a catalyst, but the users who perform this role ensure the smooth and efficient functioning of the network.

         IRC does not automatically produce a stable culture of cooperative effort. Even in cases where cooperation is intended, misunderstandings and personality incompatibilities can result in an extremely chaotic and hostile environment. Catalysts help prevent and resolve misunderstanding, calm the waters when users have difficulties dealing with each other and provide examples of constructive behavior in environments where such behavior might not otherwise be the norm.

         Catalysts try to resolve problems, not through the use of authority and special privilege, but by fostering consensus, gently nudging participants in the direction of more appropriate behavior and by generally reducing the level of confrontation rather than confronting users with problems.

         Channel and network administrators may be catalysts and, indeed, are encouraged to take on that role. Channels which recognize the importance of the catalyst role will foster more effective coordination of effort. An important characteristic of successful catalysts is the infrequency with which they wear authority or invoke special privilege.

         freenode staffers and facilities hosting personnel are advised that an understanding and appreciation of the role of catalyst is essential to understanding the nature and intended purpose of the network. As the network grows in size, formal training in the catalyst role will be provided.

      3. Useful links:
         • Wikipedia:IRC channels If you're going to go there, where you should go.
         • Wikipedia:Assume good faith Always, even on IRC.
         • Meta:IRC channel cloaks These hide your IP address from other users online. Has nothing to do with the Cabal.
         • User:Geogre/IRC considered Geogre goes a bit more into detail about IRC itself.

         Feel free to add your own links here. I don't mind.

      4. Posting public logs

         Posting logs of IRC sessions without the permission of all involved is highly discouraged and will likely result in you being no longer welcome to converse with those individuals, as well as banned from IRC channels. There is no policy, however, stating that you should be blocked for posting a log on Wikipedia.Please remember that you can still be blocked for disruption, even if that disruption is created by spreading logs of others without their permission.

   3. Blogging

      We've already had instances of blogger comments inciting disruption on Wikipedia. If you run a blog, note that there are over one thousand admins alone, and many, many more users which go looking for things on the internet every day: Sooner or later your comments catch up to you.

   4. E-Mail
   5. Instant Messenger Services
   6. Other websites
6. The Dispute Resolution Process
   1. Suggested Process
   2. Avoid Escalation
   3. Abhor Arbitration

      There's nothing wrong with the process itself, for the most part. The arbitrators have undergone a difficult election to get to the point where they're in that position, and then they have to be hand-selected by the founder of Wikimedia. The problem with arbitration is simple: If you've gotten to the point where you're mentioned in an ArbCom case, it means you've failed. It takes two to tango, and cases where only one of the parties is guilty of anything tend to get handled on WP:AN/I and WP:PAIN.

7. Other related Wikimedia projects
   1. Commons
   2. Other language Wikipedias
   3. Wikiquote
   4. Wiktionary
   5. Wikispecies
   6. Meta
   7. MediaWiki and Software Development
8. Unrelated projects
   1. Wikia
   2. Freenode
   3. Wordforge

      Shameless self-plug. Go write some fiction. Creative writing! You can include original research! Enjoy yourself, but don't piss people off too badly please.

9. Things to avoid when bored
   1. Playing Wikipolitics
   2. Trolling
   3. Vandalism

[edit] Notes