Wikipedia:Policy council
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The policy council is a council of editors selected to meet and debate policy for the English Wikipedia.
The council shall consist of fifteen councillors, ten of whom shall be elected at large from the editors of the English Wikipedia, and five of whom shall be appointed by the Board of the Wikimedia Foundation (or such other person or persons as the Board shall designate) (hereinafter, referred to as the Board). The term of a councillor shall be three years, with terms staggered in three tranches separated by one year intervals. Vacancies in elected seats shall be filled by appointment by the Board valid until the next regularly scheduled election; vacancies in appointed seats shall be filled by appointment by the Board valid for the remainder of the unexpired term of the vacant seat. Councillors need not be administrators, but they must be active editors on the English Wikipedia.
The council shall make all reasonable efforts to meet in person not less than once a year, and preferably more often than that. The Foundation is requested to provide assistance in setting up such meetings and providing travel assistance for those members of the council who cannot afford travel on their own. The council shall also meet electronically (preferably with voice conferencing, if possible) at more frequent intervals. The council shall decide the rules under which it operates, including but not limited to fixing quorum, determining the exact place, time, and method of meetings, and the rules under which meetings shall proceed. The council may appoint a person not a member of the council to mediate at or preside over its meetings, at its discretion.
The council shall be charged with:
- maintaining the written policy documents as accurate a representation as is possible of the actual practices on the English Wikipedia;
- in cases where current practice is unclear or confused, recommend policy to the community to clarify such confusions; and
- in cases where community discussion has been extensive, consensus has not developed, and any policy would be better in the circumstance than no policy, recommend such policy as best serves the interests of Wikipedia as an encyclopedia, giving as much consideration as is reasonable in the circumstances to the divergent points of view expressed in community discussion.
The Arbitration Committee, administrators, and all editors are expected to give due consideration to the decisions of the policy council.
