Due to two rather different instances of site vandalism, it has become apparent that we have a need to define exactly what vandalism is in the Site Rules. As it currently stands, vandalism is not defined specifically in the site rules. The only place in the site rules it is even partially defined is under the “Editing” section, specifically:
- Responding to edits of your articles: You may alter the text of your own articles at will. However, please do not remove technical changes to your article, such as an added rating module or a corrected page name.
- Editing others' articles: You may correct grammar, spelling, or formatting errors on other peoples' articles. Please put a summary of changes in the 'description of changes' box. Any further edits require permission from the original author or Rewrite team.
- Collaborative logs: You are free to add original content to open collaborative logs. These pages are tagged as "collaboration". Content may be removed by the page owner or the Maintenance and Ancillary Staff Team (MAST). Please do not fix unauthorized or bad edits — contact the original owner or MAST about additions that you feel are inappropriate or low-quality. Alterations to the structure of a collaborative log are not permitted.
- Updating tags: Don't add or change tags unless you know what you're doing. If you have any questions, please contact a member of the Technical Team. Do not remove Staff Process tags from any article (in-rewrite, in-deletion, _cc, or _image).
My proposal is that we amend the following:
In the Site Rules, we change the “Editing others’ articles” section to the following:
- Editing others' articles: You may correct grammar, spelling, or formatting errors on other peoples' articles. Please put a summary of changes in the 'Short description of changes' box. Any further edits require permission from the original author, the current curator, or the Rewrite team. Any unauthorized, malicious edits will be viewed as vandalism.
Adding to the “Other things that can get you in trouble" section:
- Vandalism: Making malicious edits to pages without proper authorization will result in a ban, the length of which will be decided by the Disciplinary team. Unauthorized edits without malicious intent will result in a revocation of membership, with ban implementation at the discretion of the Disciplinary team.
In the Guide for Newbies, we amend the “Major Edits” section to read:
- Major edits: This includes changing or adding sentences (aside from minor grammar edits), altering pictures, or other concept changes. You need to get permission from the author for these edits. If the original author is gone, ask a member of staff for permission or advice. Unauthorized, malicious edits will be viewed as vandalism and subject to disciplinary action.
And finally, in the FAQ, we add the following:
What is vandalism?
Vandalism is unauthorized edits to pre-existing content on the site. You are free to edit your own works as you see fit, but editing the work of other users is against the rules. You may request edits to be made to existing work by asking the original author, the current curator of that work, or a member of the Rewrite Team. If you don’t get permission, don’t make the edit. If you don’t know if your edit requires permission, you may ask in our IRC chat.
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