WikiBird:Resolving disputes
From WikiBird
Although WikiBird probably doesn't have as much room for disputes as some other wike sites there still may be some times when they arise. If you have a disagreement over an article, try to reach a truce and stop editing until you can resolve the issue. Please do not engage in edit wars with other users; this is not a helpful way of resolving disputes and does nothing to improve WikiBird. Instead, follow the process outlined here to resolve disagreements and prevent them from turning into serious disputes.
Note: These steps are designed for resolving disagreements between two or more parties. Vandalism and flagrant violations of WikiBird policies and behavior guidelines by repeat offenders may be handled using expedited procedures, potentially resulting in the offender being banned from WikiBird. In most situations, however, alleged misconduct by an individual user should be handled using the principles outlined here. This does not mean that users who point out the misconduct are part of the dispute; they simply represent the WikiBird community generally.
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Avoidance
The best way to resolve a dispute is to avoid it in the first place.
Be respectful to others and their points of view. This means primarily: Do not simply revert changes in a dispute. When someone makes an edit you consider biased or inaccurate, improve the edit, rather than reverting it. Provide a good edit summary when making significant changes that other users might object to. If you encounter rude or inappropriate behavior, resist the temptation to respond in kind, and do not make personal attacks.
First resort: talk to the other parties involved
The first resort in resolving almost any conflict is to discuss the issue on a talk (discussion) page. Either contact the other party on that user's talk page, or use the talk page associated with the article in question. Never carry on a dispute on the article page itself. When discussing an issue, stay cool and don't mount personal attacks. Take the other person's perspective into account and try to reach a compromise. Assume that the other person is acting in good faith unless you have clear evidence to the contrary.
Both at this stage and throughout the dispute resolution process, talking to other parties is not simply a formality to be satisfied before moving on to the next forum. Failure to pursue discussion in good faith shows that you are trying to escalate the dispute instead of resolving it. This will make people less sympathetic to your position and may prevent you from effectively using later stages in dispute resolution. In contrast, sustained discussion and serious negotiation between the parties, even if not immediately successful, shows that you are interested in finding a solution that fits within WikiBird policies.
Further dispute resolution
If talking to the other parties involved fails, you should try one of these four methods to resolve the dispute. Which ones you choose and in what order will depend on the nature of the dispute, and the preferences of people involved.
Discuss with third parties
- WikiBird works by building consensus. To develop a consensus on a disputed topic, you may need to expose the issue to a larger audience. If an edit war persists and a truce is not feasible, request that the page be protected to allow the process to move forward.
Conduct a survey
- If consensus is difficult to gauge from discussion alone, or if some users seem to be ignoring the consensus, consider conducting a publicized opinion survey. The survey should be carefully designed to present all sides of the dispute fairly.
Consider Technical Solutions
- Some issues can be resolved for both sides by using technical solutions. For example a dispute over what common bird name should show on a page can be resolved by using template parameters to allow any name.
Last resort: Arbitration
If you have taken all other reasonable steps to resolve the dispute, request Arbitration. Be prepared to show that you tried to resolve the dispute by other means. The Arbitration Committee will consider the case and issue a decision, instead of merely assisting the parties in reaching an agreement. If the issue is decided by Arbitration, you will be expected to abide by the result. If the case involves serious user misconduct, Arbitration may result in a ban from WikiBird.
