User:Cenarium/Flagged revisions/Guideline

You may comment at Wikipedia talk:Flagged revisions#Proposal: Sighted revisions for specific articles or Wikipedia talk:Flagged revisions/straw poll#Discussion.

This is a proposal to implement sighted revisions on Wikipedia. The general idea is that certain users are able to sight a revision when it is free from vandalism and respects our core policies. IPs will view the latest sighted revision of a page when it has one.

Surveyors and Moderators

It is proposed that two new user groups be created:

• Surveyor, a relatively large user group of autoconfirmed users, with possibly an automatic assignment. They have the ability to sight a revision.

• Moderators, a relatively small user subgroup of Surveyor, containing administrators. They have the additional ability to confirm a revision.

Assignment

Administrators may grant and remove those user groups.

• Surveyors must be autoconfirmed users and satisfy certain requirements; essentially no vandalism, no recent breach of WP:BLP, acceptance of the sighting terms, etc. This right would be similar to rollback in terms of assignment, generally left to the administrator's discretion but open to discussion. This can be requested at Wikipedia:requests for permissions.

• Moderators are trusted surveyors. Assignment may require a light process. The requirements would be essentially: an understanding of our core policies, no tendentious editing, no recent edit wars, no recent blocks, having a past of appropriate sighting, acceptance of the sighting terms, a certain experience in handling disputes and determining consensus, having demonstrated neutrality in disputes, etc.

Relation with rollbackers

It is possible that rollbackers be automatically assigned to the surveyor group. This would allow a certain compatibility between rollback and sighting, for example if technically possible, when a rollbacker rollbacks a surveyor, the sightings of this surveyor are rollbacked too. We may also automatically assign rollback rights to moderators. This would simplify the relations between user groups. As a consequence if rollback rights were removed to a moderator, the moderator right would be removed too; and if the sighting rights would be removed to a rollbacker, the rollback rights would be removed too; which makes sense.

Enabling

sighted revisions

Initially, this will happen when there is a consensus on the talk page or on a noticeboard (provided the discussion is linked from the talk page) to do so. Reasons may include:

Temporary

• article related to current events, when semi protection is insufficient
• article mentioned in a media or linked from a high traffic website, when semi protection is insufficient
• article linked from Main Page
• article (possibly related to current events) where semi-protection is not justified but edits need to be checked

Indefinite

• BLP with repeated violations
• constant vandalism, when semi-protection is insufficient
• templates, essentially to prevent bad formatting and vandalism from being transcluded

We may enable by default sighted revisions to articles with a bold link on the main page. In the future, when the group of surveyors will be vast enough, we'll have more liberty to enable sighted revisions.

Enabling confirmed revisions

When an article is disputed or contentious, the system of sighted revisions may be easily abused (see above). In this case, administrators may enable confirmed revisions for the article, meaning the revision showed to an IP is the latest confirmed revision. Uninvolved moderators will be charged to confirm revisions based on the talk page discussions.

Automatic sighting

A user has automatic sighting enabled if, when the user edits a page and the latest revision is sighted, then the new revision is automatically sighted (by the user in the log). Bots, moderators and probably surveyors should have automatic sighting.

If a rollbacker rollbacks a user and the latest non-rollbacked revision is sighted, then the new revision is automatically sighted.

In the event all pages have sighting enabled, initial sighting of a page depending on the user's group will have to be studied.

An automatic confirming of edits should not happen as it would create an inequality between moderators and non-moderators.

Surveyor and moderator guidelines

All surveyors are to follow these terms, including administrators. Violation of these terms may result in a loss of privileges.

• Surveyors may sight a revision when it is clear from vandalism, libel and unsourced statements about living persons, and satisfy some other conditions at Wikipedia:Flagged revisions/Sighted versions#Requirements for Sighted pages.
• Two-revert rule for sighting/desighting, exceptions: pretty much the ones listed at Wikipedia:Three-revert rule#Exceptions with adaptations
• No sighting of an article under dispute or edit war when one is involved in the dispute or edit war, exceptions: the ones above and maintenance or non-controversial edits.

Specific to moderators

• One-revert rule on articles with confirmed revisions enabled, exceptions: same as above
• Don't confirm an article with confirmed revisions enabled when you're involved in the surrounding dispute, with an exception for maintenance/non-controversial edits
• In an article with confirmed revisions enabled, when you are not involved in the dispute, you'll have to exercise with care when confirming:
  • If the edit has not been discussed before and you think it may be controversial, don't confirm it and let it be discussed or overwritten. If in this case you decide to revert, you take the risk to get involved and should stop confirming if it happens.
  • If the edit has been discussed and is consensual, then you may confirm it.
  • If the edit has been discussed and has been rejected, then don't confirm it. If in this case you decide to revert, same as above.
  • If the edit has been discussed and consensus is uncertain, don't confirm it and let involved users sort this out.
  • In other cases, you shouldn't confirm. Let involved users decide on the talk page, other revisions should come soon.
• You may go to the flagging noticeboard for discussion.

Problems involving sighting

Disputed sighting

If a sighting is disputed, a talk page discussion should be opened and the decision of sighting should be consensual. It is also advised that you left a message at the flagging noticeboard. If the issue cannot be resolved or a sighting war begins, contact an administrator.

Sighting war

If a sighting war occurs, contact an administrator. You may request sighting protection to moderators, or administrators if moderators are involved, at WP:RFP.

Abuse

An administrator may remove the surveyor rights or moderator rights in case of abuses like sighting wars. When used to hide vandalism or violations of core policies, this will likely result in a permanent block.