Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee

The Arbitration Committee exists to impose binding solutions to Wikipedia disputes. This solution may be anything up to and including a ban from editing the entire Wikipedia for a period of time.

The Arbitration Committee is the last step in the dispute resolution process — it is a last resort to be turned to when all else has failed. Other steps, including discussion between users and, where appropriate, mediation, should be tried first. The Arbitration Committee exists to deal with only the most serious disputes and cases of rule-breaking.

Until the beginning of 2004, Jimbo Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, dealt with all serious disputes and was the only person with the authority to ban users who were not engaging in simple vandalism (straightforward vandals can be blocked by any administrator). In the last couple of months, this role has begun to be passed to the Arbitration Committee. Jimbo wrote:

"The Arbitration Committee [...] can impose a solution that I'll consider to be binding, with of course the exception that I reserve the right of executive clemency and indeed even to dissolve the whole thing if it turns out to be a disaster. But I regard that as unlikely, and I plan to do it about as often as the Queen of England dissolves Parliament against their wishes, i.e. basically never, but it is one last safety valve for our values."

• To request Arbitration, see Wikipedia:Requests for Arbitration.
• The Arbitration policy details the rules involved.

Members

NOTE: The number of active AC members affects the number of AC members needed to reach a ruling. For example, if seven AC members are active, then four votes are needed to reach a majority decision. If ten are active, then six votes are needed, etc.

AC status: Active (has participated in an AC case in the last month), Inactive (has not participated in an AC case in the last month), Away (on a temporary leave of absence)

Active

As of August 10, 2004

1. Daniel Mayer, aka Maveric149 -- maveric149 at yahoo.com
2. Fred Bauder -- fredbaud at ctelco.net
3. James Forrester, aka Jdforrester -- james at jdforrester.org (at the Fringe; intermittent access, back in a week)
4. Mark, aka Delirium -- delirium at rufus.d2g.com
5. Sean Barrett, aka The Epopt -- sean at epoptic.org
6. Martin Harper, aka MyRedDice -- wikipedia at myreddice.co.uk (computer failure - but may be able to work around)
7. The Cunctator -- cunctator at kband.com -- the Requests for Arbitration page is utterly confusing
8. James W. Rosenzweig, aka Jwrosenzweig
9. Mark , aka Raul654

Away

As of 24 July 2004

1. Gutza -- gutza at moongate.ro, but please see my notice on a temporary internet outage
2. Lee Pilich, aka Camembert -- lee at audiblerecords.com (for reasons of sanity. I will make a return in a month or two, and will make sure I'm around immediately following the elections to keep up with developments)

Inactive

As of 30 July 2004

1. David Friedland, aka Nohat -- david at nohat.net

Left

1. UninvitedCompany

Notes

All volunteered apart from The Cunctator, who was "drafted". Jimbo plans that future Arbitrators will be elected. Currently, elections are to take place for some top-up short-term Arbitrators, as the Committee is now half-staffed.

By choice, we don't have a chair.

External link

• Now-defunct Arbitration message board (active 21 Jan to 17 Mar 2004)