Tag: Wikipedia governance - Page 2

Leona Whitcombe

RfA Trends in 2025: Success Rates and Community Expectations

In 2025, Wikipedia's RfA success rate has dropped to 17% as community expectations rise. Admins now need conflict resolution skills, cultural awareness, and emotional maturity-not just edit counts. Learn what really matters today.

Leona Whitcombe

The Complete Process for Proposing and Implementing New Wikipedia Policies

Learn how Wikipedia volunteers propose, debate, and implement new policies through open, consensus-driven discussions - no authority needed, just clear reasoning and patience.

Leona Whitcombe

Wikipedia Topic-Area Arbitration Remedies: How Enforcement Works and What Actually Changes

Wikipedia's topic-area arbitration enforces rules in high-conflict editing zones through bans, co-editing rules, and automated checks. It's not perfect, but it's the most effective system of its kind, keeping articles stable and credible despite intense disputes.

Leona Whitcombe

How Wikipedia Protects High-Profile Articles During Breaking Events

Wikipedia uses automated alerts and volunteer editors to lock down high-profile articles during breaking events, preventing vandalism and misinformation. Protection levels vary based on threat level, and decisions are made rapidly by a global team of trusted editors.

Leona Whitcombe

Mass Deletion Debates on Wikipedia: Lessons From Notability Wars

Mass deletion debates on Wikipedia reveal how notability rules silently erase marginalized voices. Who gets remembered-and who gets deleted-depends not on importance, but on who’s editing the page.

Leona Whitcombe

How Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee Makes Final Editorial Decisions

Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee handles the most serious editing disputes, making final, binding decisions based on community policies. Composed of elected volunteers, it enforces sanctions like topic bans and blocks when community mediation fails.

Leona Whitcombe

Wikipedia Election Cycles: How ArbCom, Board Seats, and Community Voting Work

Wikipedia's election cycles for ArbCom and the Wikimedia Board are community-driven processes that ensure governance remains transparent and representative. Learn how editors vote, who qualifies, and why this system still works.

Leona Whitcombe

How RFCs Change Wikipedia Policies: Procedure and Timelines

Wikipedia policies change through open community discussions called RFCs-no votes, no admins, just careful, slow consensus. Learn how the process works, how long it takes, and why it’s designed to be deliberate.

Leona Whitcombe

Wikimedia Office Actions vs. Community Sanctions on Wikipedia

Wikipedia's governance relies on two systems: volunteer-driven community sanctions and top-down Wikimedia Foundation office actions. This article explores how they interact, clash, and sometimes save each other.

Leona Whitcombe

How WikiProjects Coordinate Topic-Specific Editing on Wikipedia

WikiProjects are volunteer-led groups on Wikipedia that coordinate editing around specific topics. They improve article quality through consensus, assessment tools, and shared guidelines - without top-down control.

Leona Whitcombe

Deletionism vs. Inclusionism on Wikipedia: How the Site Decides What Stays and What Goes

Wikipedia's deletionism and inclusionism debate shapes what knowledge survives online. Who decides what's notable? And who gets left out? This is how the battle over Wikipedia's soul plays out.

Leona Whitcombe

Wikipedia Admins: The Volunteer Moderators Who Keep the Site Running

Wikipedia admins are unpaid volunteers who enforce rules, block vandals, and resolve disputes on the world’s largest encyclopedia. They’re not paid, not famous, but essential to keeping the site alive.