Requests for Comment/Requests for Comment

'''This is a DRAFT RFC. Please DO NOT vote. You may add suggestions for wording or new proposals, but please do not vote on substantive issues'''

While Requests for Comment have so far had no particular rules in place, following a discussion in a Miraheze Meeting where several users expressed support for some of my ideas (and proposed ideas of their own) it seems right not only to codify some existing conventions but also to add new rules to ensure that RfCs are created appropriately.

Proposal 1 (Definition)

 * Requests for Comment (RfCs) are the mechanism by which the Miraheze community can discuss and vote on global policy suggestions as well as general other matters pertaining to the Miraheze community.

Proposal 1.1 (Definition)

 * For single-issue proposals or minor changes to an existing policy, it is not necessary to use the Requests for Comment process and a community discussion can instead be initiated on the Community Noticeboard

Proposal 2 (Proposal)

 * In order to start a Request for Comment, the user proposing the Request for Comment must have at least one other user who is willing to co-initiate the Request for Comment. When the Request for Comment is published, the co-initiating user should be mentioned after the introductory statement and should sign themselves before voting begins.

Proposal 2.2 (Proposal)

 * In the event that an RfC is opened without a second user co-initiating it, any registered user may close it as invalid.

Proposal 3 (Voting)

 * Only registered users may vote in Requests for Comment or initiate them. Unregistered users editing from IP addresses may not participate in Requests for Comment.

Proposal 3.1 (Alternative to Proposal 3)

 * Unregistered users may participate in Requests for Comment by way of comments, but these will not ultimately be taking into account when deciding consensus and will not count as 'votes'

Proposal 4 (Voting)

 * Users may not participate in Requests for Comment with more than one account, in accordance with the User accounts policy.

Proposal 5 (Drafting)

 * If possible, users are strongly recommended to create a draft Request for Comment before publishing it and opening it to a vote. Users can add their draft RfCs under the appropriate section of the Requests for Comment page and ask the community for feedback. During the drafting stage, there should be minimal discussion about the substantive issues and the focus should be about improving the existing proposals or adding new ones.