Guild Wars 2 Wiki:Quietly deal with vandals

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 It has been superseded by a list of common wiki practices.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.

Summary

• Assume good faith.
• Do not use personal attacks, ever, even against vandals and trolls.
• Spend the minimal amount of time/effort as necessary to counter vandalism.

Details

Malicious vandals and trolls feed on attention. Verbal warning and threats will not stop them. Posting on their talk pages when they start only challenges them to keep going, giving them a good time and treating it as a game, trying to bait more of us to flame them.

When dealing with disruptive edits, keep in mind the following:

1. Remember to assume good faith when possible. If an IP/account makes a single edit that screws up an article somehow, try to imagine if someone completely new to wiki may have accidentally saved some stuff while experimenting around (or blanking a section etc). If so, kindly point them to the Sandbox, and explain how their edits may have been viewed as disruptive. You may also want to point them to the "Show preview" button. This is sufficient for most new users.
2. If an edit is obviously nonsense or vandalism judging from the language used in the edit, just quietly revert it without making a fuss.
3. If an IP/account is repeatedly making disruptive edits, keep up the reverts, and put a ban tag on the IP/account's user page. Do not post messages such as "Stop vandalizing" on their talkpage, as this accomplishes nothing and may make the situation worse.
4. "Sockpuppetry" - In all but the most obvious cases, treat each IP/account as a unique person. We cannot actually know if they are the same people. A different vandal might simply claim to be the same as the previous vandal just for fun and for the sake of building up a reputation (fame). By treating each IP/account on a case-by-case basis, we rob them of that fun.
5. Do NOT troll the vandal's talk page under ANY circumstances, even if you yourself were a target for vandalism. This only provokes them and brings you down to their level.
6. If a vandal starts a discussion in reply to a ban notice, politely and succinctly explain why the notice is there.
7. Do not dignify those who are trolling with a response at all, even if it is on your own talk page - that is exactly what they wish for. Don't play into their hands.
8. Do NOT get into lengthy discussions over whether vandals and trolls can or cannot be banned. If they have a problem, they can contact an admin directly and discuss it.
9. Do not go into a debate with other users over any technicality, interpretation, accusation, or any other aspect of a ban - it only serves to create unnecessary drama and give attention to the accused. The admins will examine the evidence presented in the original post or ban tag and make a decision.
10. Corollary: If you disagree with a ban on someone else, clearly and concisely explain the situation and your point of view in a single post at the admin noticeboard, and leave a note on the banning admin's talk page pointing to your post. If necessary, you may also contact other admins who are online.

Notes

• When reminding other users to QDV, please do so on their own talk page, instead of the (potential) vandal's talk page.

See also

• Wikipedia's definition of troll