Requests for Comment/Wiki governance and local elections

It should be well known that Miaheze functions based on the principle of community consensus and that if such consensus and good arguments exist for implementing policy changes, these will be implemented. After various experiences with some wikis but also sometimes in global votes, it has become clear that some additional rules and guidelines are needed to ensure that wiki governance and local elections are fairly conducted and that the principle of community consensus is adhered to all over the farm.

For local elections, this will be achieved by largely codifying (and therefore gaining community approval for) the already existing Local elections guidelines/recommendations which have generally been well received. If approved, the first proposals will be included in a new Wiki governance and voting policy page and the ones related to Local elections will modify the current Local elections guideline and make it into a policy as updating it with some of the changes here. Thanks to Agent, Raidarr, NotAracham and BrandoWM for helping with this RfC.

Notes regarding this RfC: None of the original proposals in this RfC are mutually exclusive. If you think it is absolutely necessary to add an alternative or new proposal even after voting has commenced (which is generally not encouraged) please add it as "Proposal X Alternative X". Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Co-sponsored by:

Wiki governance and voting

Proposal 1: Wiki governance

 * Wikis are governed (or managed) by bureaucrats, administrators or any other designated group with similar functions. Wikis on Miraheze generally function by the principle of community consensus. Miraheze holds the attitude that wikis are not owned by any user, but by their community.

Bureaucrats and administrators are accountable to their community and may not take actions which are inconsistent with the community's will (for example, they must abide by written policies voted by the community). No user with advanced rights should consider themselves the sole arbiter in all things or the 'leader' of the wiki.

If bureaucrats or sysops do not respect the will of the community, Stewards may intervene and give effect to the community's wishes. Please see Stewards for more details.

Support (1)

 * 1)  This is already the status quo and our farm purpose isn't to allow single users to control a wiki which is a collaborative project. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  Absolutely. This is already the status quo, as Reception123, so this proposal is perfect as it finally codifies what is already practice which will make it easier for users and admins to know how we view wikis as it happens often on big wikis (AVID Wiki as a recent example) where bureaucrats view themselves as dictators and unilaterally defy their communities wishes.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 3)  Not only does this codify an existing standard, it also brings governance language in line with other language/practice included in our recent code of conduct and content policy overhauls.  An easy support. --NotAracham (talk • contribs • global) 00:24, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 1.2: Actions

 * Bureaucrats, administrators or any other designated group with similar functions must not take actions that are clearly arbitrary, unfair and for which no reason is given.

Rationale: In some cases it has been observed that admins take actions against users and don't even attempt to explain why they took such action. In order to be accountable, actions taken must be explained in a transparent way.

Support (1.2)

 * 1)  This is very related to Proposal 1 but sometimes we see that administrators take actions against users and don't even provide any sort of actual justification. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  Very reasonable. As stated in my support for proposal 1, it has occured before that bureaucrats take unilateral, sweeping actions against users without any real reason (i.e. on avidwiki, the bureaucrat demoted and blocked editors for nonsensical reasons/no reason).  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 2: Personal wikis

 * In the following situations, the principle of community consensus is not applicable and the user who requested the wiki is solely responsible for governing their wiki:
 * private personal wikis wholly or substantially about the user who filed the original request
 * public personal e-portfolio
 * curriculum vitae (résumé)
 * blog
 * other narrowly-construed wikis with a similar purpose

Support (2)

 * 1)  In these cases it doesn't make sense to rule by consensus. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  Reasonable. It wouldn't make sense to have a personal wiki being run by consensus and the bureaucrat potentially being ousted somehow from a wiki about themselves.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 3.1: Weighing of outside votes

 * A vote by a user who is clearly not genuinely connected to the wiki's community is to be weighed less than other votes.

This is to be interpreted narrowly. The presumption is that a user is connected to a wiki's community.

Examples of a user who is clearly not genuinely connected include but are not limited to: a user who has a very small amount of meaningful edits on the wiki, a user who very recently attached their account on a wiki, a user whose edits are clearly made in order to escape this provision.

This does not apply to Requests for Comment or global permission requests on Meta.

Rationale: If this were not the case, a large group of users from one wiki could create accounts on another and arbitrarily demote an existing bureaucrat or enact other changes even though they have nothing to do with the wiki. This proposal doesn't target "new users", it only aims to prevent users who have nothing to do with a community from being able to seriously influence its policies or which users get promoted.

Support (3.1)

 * 1)  It happens that sometimes users from one community invite users from other wikis to come vote. It doesn't seem fair that users who have no relation to the community have the same say as users who do. For a real world example, countries don't allow non-citizens to vote. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  Absolutely necessary. It wouldn't make sense if an outside user can interject in a discussion just because.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 3.2: Tight-knit communities
Whether a wiki falls under this category will be determined by a Steward by reference to its purpose or description and all the circumstances. A wiki which was initially part of this category may evolve and no longer be considered a "tight-knit" community at a later time.
 * If a wiki focuses on a niche topic, has a small number of active users and can be characterized as a 'tight-knit community', votes by users part of the group may be weighed more than others.

Rationale: This is similar to 3.1 but only would also cover cases when there's a small community but then new users join (and contribute enough to not be caught by 3.1) and attempt to change the wiki's direction. In such cases, it would be fair to allow the original community to govern themselves.

Support (3.2)

 * 1)  Similarly to 3.1, it doesn't seem fair from outside users to come and disrupt the functioning of a smaller community with its own rules and conventions. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  Reasonable. Wouldn't make sense to allow outsiders to take over a wiki.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 3.3: Canvassing or solicitation of votes

 * Privately asking multiple users to support a permissions request is not allowed. [1]
 * Asking a large number of users who are not affiliated or genuinely connected to the wiki's community to vote in any request is not allowed.
 * Promising an advantage or preferential treatment in exchange for a support vote is not allowed.

[1] Generally asking users to vote in a neutral manner is not covered, but should ideally be done publicly (i.e. not via private message)

Support (3.3)

 * 1)  This is quite obviously something we don't want to have. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  Very reasonable. A canvassing guideline is definitely needed. We already, by convention, prohibit canvassing but formalizing this prohibition on the practice is very important to have a policy standing to do so.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 4: Policies

 * All wikis are governed by Global policies and any local policies or practices that violate global policies are not allowed. This includes local policies that adopt lower standards than ones contained in global policies.


 * In most cases, local administrators and bureaucrats are responsible for ensuring that global policies are being respected on their wikis. Stewards and, in some cases other global groups, are also responsible to ensure that global policies are being respected across Miraheze.


 * This policy imposes certain minimum standards but wikis are encouraged to develop their own policies and may provide higher standards than those contained in this policy.

Rationale: This doesn't change the status quo it just codifies it.

Support (4)

 * 1)  Codifies the status quo. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  Status quo already so no harm in codifying it.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Comments (4)
Local elections

Proposal 5: Definition and scope
A local election is a process on a wiki where a user self-nominates or is nominated to hold specific permissions, such as administrator and/or bureaucrat. They are governed by local policies (if they exist) and typically overseen by local bureaucrats. If neither applies, a Steward may be brought in to oversee the election and assess its results based on global policies, conventions, best practices and case-by-case discretion.

Wikis are recommended to develop their own election process and related policies, and have them ratified by the community by way of vote.

Restricted local groups such as CheckUser, local Interwiki administrators and Oversight require filling specific requirements set globally, outlined on their respective pages.

This policy only applies to the election of users in specific roles (i.e. it does not apply to voting on policies).

Support (5)

 * 1)  Makes sense to have a default for local elections if local policies don't exist. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  Reasonable definition of what an election is.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 6: Elections on wikis with inactive bureaucrats
The following conditions apply to such elections (private wikis are dealt with separately):
 * If a wiki's bureaucrats have been absent for some time and there is nobody to assess local decisions, provide direction, use ManageWiki or enforce global policies (such as the Content Policy and the Code of Conduct and no policies are developed locally to cover this scenario, the community must set up a local election. The following sections assume there is no local governance to supervise and that the election will be 'called' by a Steward.
 * The nominee should be an existing contributor, locally active or at least have an edit history, even if it is built after the election starts.
 * The nominee should have a clear and specific idea of what they wish to do with the rights. A general or vague will to 'improve the wiki' will not suffice.
 * If present, the existing community should be supportive. [IF PROPOSAL 3.1 passes: In accordance with the weighing of outside votes rule, votes by users who are not genuinely connected to the wiki's community will be weighed less]. Third parties (such as an existing linked discord server) may also be considered, but on-wiki accounts with edit history will be given more weight
 * The proceedings should be as transparent as possible - further details are in the process section.

Support (6)

 * 1)  Per the current local election guidelines. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  Already the status quo.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 7: Appointment on wikis with no community
If there is no existing community or an extremely small one, a user may be temporarily appointed by a Steward to a position provided that they demonstrate a need and clearly indicate their intentions. An 'appointment' is not to be equivalent to an 'election'.

Support (7)

 * 1)  It's quite absurd to hold 'elections' when there's no one to vote in them, so it makes sense to have this temporarily until a community exists. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  I've been wanting to implement something like this for a while now. It makes no sense to have users 'win' an election by acclamation on wikis with no users. Holding an election on a wiki with no users is a bit too much bureaucracy as you go the extra mile just for no one to vote and for you to win by acclamation. A temporary appointment makes more sense as they can be renewed on a need basis from the bureaucrat and once the wiki is large enough, a community can actually fully promote a bureaucrat/sysop.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 8: Election process
Elections should take place on a very prominent page. This could be the wiki's community portal, a designated place, or if nothing like this exists, on the talk page of the main page or a page specifically made for the job. It cannot be 'hidden' on an obscure or unknown page. If this criteria is not met, an election may be deemed to be invalid.

The nominee should at the minimum present themselves, what rights they want and their intentions. There should be at least a discussion section below that where people can ask questions and leave their input. The conventional model consists of sections for support, oppose, neutral and comments.

The community should be informed of the process (for example, if deemed appropriate, with a sitenotice or a message on the Main Page). A Steward may be contacted if no one has access to the above.

Active contributors and existing bureaucrats active on the wiki must made aware of the election, if there are any.

Support (8)

 * 1)  Elections should be transparent and everyone in the community should know about them. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  This is already the status quo and has been a practice since before I was a Steward so there's no harm in formally codifying this process so that wiki requesters can easily see how we formally want an election to look like. It makes sense to have an election advertised on a prominent page in order to allow for maximum visibility.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 9: Election duration and closure

 * All local elections involving advanced permissions (administrator, bureaucrat, etc.) must stay open for at least 5 days (but 7 days is recommended).

In case there is no local bureaucrat to effectuate the election, the result should be taken back to the Stewards' noticeboard - in the original section if it's been brought up before, or a new one if it has not.

Support (9)

 * 1)  There should be enough time for the community to express itself. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  This is already the status quo (we advise all requesters to wait for a minimum of 5-7 days before asking us to close an election) so this would only codify the status quo.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 10: Private and personal wikis

 * Only users who can have view permissions on a private wiki may run for a position on that wiki. External users who cannot view the wiki cannot run for any position within the wiki.


 * No users may run for a positions on wikis [that are listed in Proposal 2].


 * If a wikis focuses on a niche topic, can be characterized as a 'tight-knit community', and has a small number of active users only a user who is part of the group of users may be nominated for a position. It should be clarified that users may become part of the group at any time; it is not limited to users who were originally part of it.

Support (10)

 * 1)  Makes sense. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  Perfectly reasonable. It wouldn't make sense to allow any user who can't even view the wiki/isn't part of the wiki community to run for any position.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 11: Minor local rights

 * On wikis with inactive bureaucrats, Stewards may grant small local rights to users upon request and proper need without a local election. This includes and is not limited to: Autopatrolled, Confirmed, and Rollbacker. They can be requested on Stewards' noticeboard while stating the reason for why the rights are needed.

Support (11)

 * 1)  Once again, it wouldn't make sense to demand elections in an underdeveloped community. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  This has been the status quo since forever ago (so much so that it has its own section on the Stewards' noticeboard, see Stewards' noticeboard) so it'd make perfect sense to codify this in as Stewards act like local bureaucrats on wikis without any active one.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 12.1: Removing bureaucrats

 * Miraheze wikis are configured by default to only permit Stewards to remove bureaucrats. The same rules as described above apply for removal of bureaucrats.


 * In order for a bureaucrat to be removed at least 50% of users must support the removal and a valid reason must exist for the removal (for example, a bureaucrat may be removed if they are acting against the community's interests).


 * Removing a bureaucrat without community consensus or very compelling/emergency reasons is highly frowned upon. If this happens, Stewards may intervene if necessary.

Support (12.1)

 * 1)  It doesn't seem fair to remove a bureaucrat if the majority of users disagree with this removal, per the principle of community consensus. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  Per Reception123.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 12.2: Removing major contributor

 * If a user has contributed to the vast majority of content on a wiki, they may only be removed as administrator or bureaucrat if there is a very good and genuine reason for doing so. A major contributor may not be removed from advanced permissions simply because they have different views or ideas about the wiki's direction. A major contributor may only be removed following a vote, unless there are compelling/emergency reasons.

Support (12.2)

 * 1)  It makes sense that someone who has contributed to the "vast majority" (a high bar) of content and therefore has put a lot of time and effort into it shouldn't be able to be removed as administrator or bureaucrat just because others disagree with their ideas. If the major contributor isn't doing a good job as an administrator, that's a different issue and wouldn't be covered. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:06, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  Per Reception123.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Proposal 13: Wikis with conflicting groups/management

 * In a situation where there are two equally represented conflicting groups with different visions or ideas for the wiki who are unable to reach an agreement among themselves, they may contact Stewards who will mediate.


 * In extreme circumstances where there is clearly no prospect of agreement or reconciliation between the two groups, Stewards may, in accordance with the Content Policy, allow for a fork of the wiki to be created and the two groups to separate. Otherwise, the wiki should be closed.

Support (13)

 * 1)  Has happened in the past, best to have it clarified. Reception123 (talk) ( C ) 12:08, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 2)  It is already the status quo to reach out to Stewards in case of a dispute, as per the Stewards policy. The latter portion could be helpful in many cases and in fact, I have a few historical cases I can think of where this provision could've helped a lot.  Agent Isai  Talk to me! 14:38, 7 February 2023 (UTC)