Guild Wars 2 Wiki:No personal attacks 2010-08-16

This page is a suspended policy proposal. It has been superseded by a list of common wiki practices. The Guild Wars 2 Wiki has no policies. All former proposals are kept for historical preservation.

Guild Wars 2 Wiki is based on being respectful to its users as they are the core of the development of this wiki. With that being said, Guild Wars 2 Wiki will not allow any personal attacks. Users may comment on the content, but not on the contributor. Personal attacks will never help make a point, but cause disruption and harm to the community as it deters users from helping contribute or create good articles. If you feel someone is making a personal attack, take it to the Admin noticeboard and do not try to solve this yourself.

What is considered a personal attack?

Contributors may not agree on some of the content within an article and there are people who may wish to have their viewpoints included in an article. Many who combine their views with others may create a better article for everyone to view. Every person who contributes to an article is a part of the Guild Wars 2 Wiki's community.

When stating disagreements, editors should be civil and remain calm. Comments should be directed at the content and not at the person. Remember, disagreements about content and referring to other editors may not always be a personal attack. For example, a posting that says "Your statement about A is wrong, due to information at B" or "This paragraph you wrote in the article looks more like an opinion" is not a personal attack. Some comments that might appear to be a personal attack, such as labeling an edit that removes a substantial amount of text as "vandalism", may be well-intentioned. The best response to such statements is to address the issues of the content, instead of accusing the other person of violating this policy.

There is no clear rule, defined or standard, about what constitutes as a personal attack, as opposed to constructive discussion. Some type of comments that are never acceptable, include and are not limited to:

• Racial, sexual, homophobic, ageist, religious, political, or ethnic epithets directed against another contributor. Disagreement over what constitutes racial, sexual, homophobic, ageist, religious, political, or ethnic epithets mentioned is not a legitimate excuse.
• Using someone's affiliations as a means of dismissing or discrediting their views - regardless if said affiliations are mainstream or extreme.
• Threats of legal action.
• Threats of physical violence, particularly death threats.
• Threats of vandalism to userpages or talk pages.
• Threats to interfere with the operation of a user's computer.
• Threats or actions which expose other contributors to political, religious or other persecution by government, their employer or any others.
• Posting a link to an external source that fits the commonly accepted threshold for a personal attack, in a manner that incorporates the substance of that attack into discussion, including the suggestion that such a link applies to another editor, or that another editor needs to visit the external source containing the substance of the attack.
• Revealing or threatening to reveal personal information about another contributor.

These examples are not inclusive: Insulting or disparaging an editor is a personal attack regardless of the manner in which it is done.

Additionally, editors are strongly discouraged from using profanity in comments to other contributors. When in doubt, comment on the article's content without referring to its contributor at all. The prohibition against personal attacks applies equally to all contributors, including admins.

It is as unacceptable for anyone to attack a user with a history of foolish or boorish behavior, or even one who has been subject to disciplinary action as it is to attack any other user. The Guild Wars 2 Wiki encourages a positive online community: people make mistakes, but they are encouraged to learn from them and change their ways. Personal attacks are contrary to this spirit and damaging to the continued growth of the wiki. Remember: What happened on Guild Wars 1 does not affect Guild Wars 2, even personal attacks.

Responding to personal attacks

Initial options

Frequently, the best way to respond to an isolated personal attack is not to respond at all or if you feel offended, then you may report the attack to the admin noticeboard. Debates can become stressful for some editors, who may occasionally overreact. Additionally, talk page discussions are in a text-only medium that conveys nuances and emotions poorly as this can easily lead to misunderstanding. While personal attacks are not excused, editors are encouraged to disregard angry and ill-mannered postings of others when it is reasonable to do so. Editors are not encouraged to cause disruption or get involved with it, as they are encouraged to continue to focus their efforts on improving and developing the Guild Wars 2 Wiki.

If you feel that a response is necessary and desirable, you should leave a polite message on the other user's talk page. Do not respond on a talk page of an article; this tends to escalate matters. Likewise, it is important to avoid becoming hostile and confrontational yourself, even in the face of abuse. When possible, try to find compromise or common ground regarding the underlying issues of content, rather than argue about behavior or attacking each other. If you are too angry to respond without violating this policy, consider taking a short break from the wiki, or contact an admin.

Attacks that are particularly offensive or disruptive (such as physical or legal threats) should not be ignored. Extraordinary situations that require immediate intervention are rare, but may be reported at the Admin noticeboard or to any active site admin on their talk page.

Recurring attacks

Recurring personal attacks that do not stop after reasoned requests to cease should be reported to the Admin noticeboard or to any active site admin on their talk page. Especially when personal attacks arise as the result of heated debate over article content, informal mediation and discussions with third parties are often the best way to resolve the conflict. In most circumstances, problems with personal attacks can be resolved if editors work together and focus on content, then immediate administrator action is not required.

Removal of text

Removing unquestionable personal attacks from your own user talk page is much less of a concern than removing comments from other pages in the Guild Wars 2 Wiki . For text elsewhere, where such text is directed against you, removal requests should be directed to an admin to determine if the comments should remain, be archived, or be deleted. However, deletion should be rare, limited to situations where the comments pose an ongoing threat to a user such as revealing personal information in the attack. If you wish to remove attacks, simply archive them for references and use to the admins.

Consequences of personal attacks

Although, editors are encouraged to ignore or respond politely to isolated personal attacks, that does not mean that one should imply that they are acceptable or without consequences. A pattern of hostility reduces the likelihood of the community assuming good faith, and can be considered disruptive editing.

Users who insist on a confrontational style marked by personal attacks can receive administrative disciplinary action, including short-term or extended bans.