Wikiversity:Community Review/Problematic actions/Outside interventions

This page is a chance for members of the Wikiversity community to review problematic actions that are deflecting Wikiversity from its mission.

Note: This community review is a collaborative search for ways to improve Wikiversity policies and procedures. Note: This review is a work in progress. Note: Proposals for improvements to policies and procedures that arise during this community review can be listed at the page section for Proposals. Note: Related review topics have been moved to separate pages:
 * Threats to the Wikiversity project‎
 * Moulton‎
 * Policy development‎
 * Many links were broken when these subpages (above) were created. If you click on a link and it does not take you to the correct page section, the link is no longer to the correct page.

Outside intervention

 * 13 March 2010 User:Jimbo Wales deleted Wikimedia Ethics/Ethical Breaching Experiments
 * This was an out-of-process page deletion. The Wikiversity community knew about this page and knew it was a harmless learning project, but it was deleted by an outsider who made no attempt to first engage in Wikiversity community discussion. The deletion was instigated by a Wikipedian acting at Jimbo's Wikipedia talk page.


 * 13 March 2010 User:Jimbo Wales blocked Privatemusings
 * This block imposed from outside with no Wikiversity community discussion.


 * 15 March 2010 User:SB Johnny desysopped by User:Jimbo Wales
 * A Wikiversity Custodian was emergency desysoped for following Wikiversity community procedures. An outsider made no attempt to involve the Wikiversity community in a discussion of the Custodian's actions.


 * 16 March 2010 User:Jimbo Wales blocked Thekohser
 * This block was imposed from outside with no Wikiversity community discussion.


 * August 2008 Censorship of Wikiversity "per foundation directive".
 * It was later revealed that there had been no "foundation directive" only unwelcome and destructive intimidation of Wikiversity Custodians by outsiders.


 * December 2008 User:Jimbo Wales deleted User talk:Moulton, protected User talk:Moulton [create=sysop] (indefinite)
 * This was an out-of-process deletion (did not involve community discussion at Requests for Deletion) of Wikiversity content imposed from outside the community.


 * September 2008 Removal of User:Jon Awbrey user page content by User:Mike.lifeguard who cited the authority of another wiki.
 * September 2008 User:Jimbo Wales blocked Moulton. This bad block was made against consensus (Wikiversity custodians refused to make the block) and was called for by Wikipedians. The block was imposed without any attempt to first allow the wider Wikiversity community to make the decision.

Topics for discussion
Will Wikiversity always be subject to these kinds of out-of-process deletions of Wikiversity learning resources, blocks of Wikiversity community members and emergency desysoping? If a Wikipedian does not like a learning resource or a Wikiversity community member can they just arrange a deletion? Is there anything that the Wikiversity community can do about these interventions? Does Wikipedia control the fate of Wikiversity? How many Wikiversity participants have stopped or curtailed their participation at Wikiversity because of these interventions? Can Wikiversity recover and grow as long as such interventions continue? Can the Wikiversity community now safely undo all unwelcome interventions from outside?

Questions about outside interventions

 * 1) Are Wikiversity custodians responsible for outside intervention?
 * 2) Are Wikiversity custodians responsible for a person's actions?
 * 3) When are Wikiversity custodians responsible for a person's actions?
 * 4) Why are Wikiversity custodians responsible for a person's actions?
 * 5) Why are Wikiversity custodians responsible for Jimbo Wales' actions?
 * 6) Why are Wikiversity custodians responsible for Mike.lifeguard's actions?
 * 7) Why are Wikiversity custodians responsible for SB_Johnny's actions?
 * 8) What responsibilities do Wikiversity custodians have for a person's actions?
 * 9) What responsibilities do Wikiversity custodians have for Jimbo Wales' actions?
 * 10) What responsibilities do Wikiversity custodians have for Mike.lifeguard's actions?
 * 11) What responsibilities do Wikiversity custodians have for SB_Johnny's actions?
 * 12) How are Wikiversity custodians responsible for a person's actions?
 * 13) How are Wikiversity custodians responsible for Jimbo Wales' actions?
 * 14) How are Wikiversity custodians responsible for Mike.lifeguard's actions?
 * 15) How are Wikiversity custodians responsible for SB_Johnny's actions?
 * 16) Are Wikiversity participants responsible for outside intervention?
 * 17) Are Wikiversity participants responsible for a person's actions?
 * 18) When are Wikiversity participants responsible for a person's actions?
 * 19) Why are Wikiversity participants responsible for a person's actions?
 * 20) Why are Wikiversity participants responsible for Jimbo Wales' actions?
 * 21) Why are Wikiversity participants responsible for Mike.lifeguard's actions?
 * 22) Why are Wikiversity participants responsible for SB_Johnny's actions?
 * 23) What responsibilities do Wikiversity participants have for a person's actions?
 * 24) What responsibilities do Wikiversity participants have for Jimbo Wales' actions?
 * 25) What responsibilities do Wikiversity participants have for Mike.lifeguard's actions?
 * 26) What responsibilities do Wikiversity participants have for SB_Johnny's actions?
 * 27) How are Wikiversity participants responsible for a person's actions?
 * 28) How are Wikiversity participants responsible for Jimbo Wales' actions?
 * 29) How are Wikiversity participants responsible for Mike.lifeguard's actions?
 * 30) How are Wikiversity participants responsible for SB_Johnny's actions?
 * 31) Are Wikiversity custodians accountable for a person's actions?
 * 32) Are Wikiversity participants accountable for a person's actions?
 * 33) Are Wikiversity participants accountable for a custodian's actions?
 * 34) Who is accountable when consensus is enforced?
 * 35) Who is accountable when Wikiversity community consensus is enforced?
 * 36) Who is accountable when Wikimedia-wide community consensus is enforced?
 * 37) Who is accountable when a Wikiversity community decision is enforced?
 * 38) Who is accountable when a Wikimedia-wide community decision is enforced?
 * 39) Who is accountable when a Foundation decision is enforced?
 * 40) Are people lying when they write an issue is cross-wiki issue?
 * 41) Are people lying when they write an issue is a Foundation issue?

-- dark lama  13:42, 15 July 2010 (UTC)


 * So someone who at one time had sysop tools here allowing him to delete pages and block editors made some actions considered inappropriate by some, in 2008 and in March 2010. Some of these actions stand, some not. Those actions in several cases set a default status quo, which we could change at any time. We have begun to change it, but JWS, initiating this complaint, has not cooperated with or supported these changes and has, in fact, disrupted them to some degree or other. --Abd 15:31, 15 July 2010 (UTC)
 * "JWS, initiating this complaint, has not cooperated with or supported these changes and has, in fact, disrupted them to some degree or other" <-- Abd, can you explain what you are talking about? --JWSchmidt 05:59, 16 July 2010 (UTC)


 * It occurs to me that the out-of-process interventions that began here two years ago have been largely unaddressed and unremediated. The undeniable effect has been to sunder the community.  Already two custodians have left to start their own separate forks of Wikiversity.  The second such departure was significantly more fractious than the first one.  It's not obvious to me that the damage can ever be repaired.  Perhaps it can only be studied so as to avoid anything comparable happening on alternate sites.  Barry Kort 05:21, 18 July 2010 (UTC)

Proposals
Proposals for how to improve Wikiversity procedures can be listed here. Describe each proposal in a page section, below.

Some related proposals are on another page: see also: 8. Official policy on consensus, 9. Official policy on blocking
 * Rollback Policy Fix
 * Policy for IRC chat
 * Privacy Issues
 * Truth in Advertising
 * Vandalism
 * Page Deletion
 * CheckUser rules


 * There is another page for Policy development proposals‎

New Proposal
add you proposal here