Grants:IdeaLab/Blockbox with relevant links to guidelines for blocked users
Project idea
edit“Miranda rights” for blocked users, helping them (us) understand why we’ve been blocked, how we can appeal, where we can appeal, and what is expected of us. (by the time I’m unblocked replace “we” with “them” in your head, unless you're blocked too. 😅 )
What is the problem you're trying to solve?
editWell, coming from a currently (as of writing this on August 19th, 2017) blocked user I can tell you one thing, the blocking experience is very user unfriendly, if you are not familiar with WikiJargon or have sufficient knowledge of all the rules and guidelines (which I have familiarised myself with now) this can be a troubling ordeal, especially since you might not know your options. One of such options (on English Wikipedia at least) would be the UTRS, if your talk page access has been revoked and you have no idea what to do.
Maybe you think that what you did was appropriate, well the list on the “Blockbox” could precisely show what options you have as well.
What is your solution?
editWell, Wikimedia projects are all educational, so why not educate those who have been blocked on why they have been blocked? In those United States of America many police 👮🏻 officers read people their rights upon arrest, this could also familiarise those who genuinely have a wish to be helpful to educate the readers and utilisers of Wikimedia projects to return and learn what they did wrong.
Remember, trolls and vandals probably won’t file an unblock request, in most cases they will evade and troll some more, but those who are genuinely interested in learning from their mistakes and willing to contribute positively should be given a chance, even if they’ve been unfriendly I would say “be friendly to unfriendly people and they might return the favour”, in fact I would probably advocate a model of “talk first, block later” but to apply that community wide would be unrealistic, allowing blocked people to be properly educated on their disruptions and their options might even work to prevent a repetition of the behaviours that lead to their blocks in the first place.
I thought of an idea that could basically serve as “the Miranda rights of Wikipedia” (or “the Blockbox”) where after a user or IP gets blocked by an admin (so not rangeblocks or autoblocks but direct blocks) a bot will automatically leave this message on their talk page (even if the talk page was previously deleted). This could start off on English wikipedia and then if it turns out to be successful could be “exported” to other wikis.
| It appears that you have been blocked. | |
|---|---|
|
Please read the guide to appealing blocks. | |
| * If you are currently unable to access your talk page you may request an unblock via the Unblock Ticket Request System or the #wikipedia-en-unblockconnect chat channel. | |
| * Checkuser and Oversight blocks may be appealed to the Arbitration Committee. | |
| * If you were blocked by Jimbo Wales then you may appeal directly to him and/or the Arbitration Committee. | |
| * If this is a Sockpuppet then you should confess your main account (or IP) now so you may receive a reduced penalty. | |
| * If you have been blocked for a username violation then you can simply create or request a new account or request to be renamed here or at #wikimedia-renameconnect, if however the username was made in bad faith then first request a rename and then you may appeal the block; further reading Wikipedia:Changing username. | |
| * If you have been blocked for adding promotional material or spam then please read about our policy on this and our external links policy before requesting an unblock. | |
| ** If you continue to violate this policy then the next time the duration of your block will increase. If you believe the link(s) you added aren't spam then you may request for it to be removed from the blacklist. | |
| * If your options are currently still unclear then please read the more technical how to appeal a block. | |
Notes: As of currently the standard offer is 6 months but maybe if a user confesses this could be reduced to 3 months or something in that direction, this would give sockpuppeteers more of an incentive to co-operate.
The above are all the blocking criteria I am currently aware of, this is just a suggestion and open to improvement.
Personally I envision this box/template to be red or orange or a combination thereof but I am not familiar enough with the parameters to adjust this.
Maybe a sad Wikitan in prison clothes could be used as the image. 🤔
Note that all links 🔗 function as if they are in the English Wikipedia and may not function here on Meta.
For this task a new bot called the “Mirandabot” will be programmed, on a more humourous note it could tag every edit with “You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in an appeal of WikiOrder”, this bot solely exists to deliver the above template and may not perform any other tasks.
IMPORTANT NEED FEEDBACK: Maybe a note for living people who were trying to remove unsourced slanderous material from pages about themselves to be directed to the right outlets, this will almost certainly prevent many WMF office actions. But then again I’m not a barrister, works?
Also note that this is to prevent further disruptions and to familiarise blocked persons with the guidelines and policies that apply to Wikipedia, as of now those willing to come back to contribute positively are faced with a wall of silence and not all rules and guidelines are properly linked to each other, I believe that creating such a system can be instrumental in preventing many disruptions, sure trolls will troll not every blocked person is a vandal and we should not assume as such.
Honestly I thought that this idea could also “grandfather in” users blocked prior to its launch, however that might require a “MirandaBotOld” or might it simply delay the newly blocked members of the community, however I think that time should be no issue and that all standing blocks should also be grandfathered in.
Project goals
editThe goal of this project is to ultimately reduce the number of disruptions and increase the numbers of willing good faith contributors, if we would approach everyone with a friendly message showing them their available options and inform them to properly read the guidelines they did wrong I strongly believe that the amount of continued disruptions to the project shall decrease, even if there are current flaws and yes the system is open to abuse (angry trolls might vandalise the IRC channels) I think that it will do more good than harm.
Additionally there should be a newly established “Sockfession booth” where Sockpuppeteers (such as myself) may have the option to confess and receive less penalties, however the system may only be used once and repeated violators of WP:SOCK will then be “punished” the same way as those who didn't confess (your “once sock shot” if you will).
Other names for the Sockfession booth could be “Wikipedia costums” (as in border costums), “Multiple Account Disorder Therapy Group” (for those who share my sense of humour, to those that don't get it it’s named after the multiple personality disorder), or “Drawer checkings” (get it…. Because they’re socks… I’ll let myself out).
Get involved
editExpand your idea
editWould a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation help make your idea happen? You can expand this idea into a grant proposal.
I am mostly sharing this for feedback and I don’t think that any money 💴 is needed, only some volunteers with the technical capabilities to make it happen who share my concerns and vision.
Yo dawgs @Mdennis (WMF):, and @JEissfeldt (WMF): I e-mailed you two about this idea 💡, realistic? Rough around the edges? I’m open for any suggestions. 👂🏻
P.S. (Post-Script)
If anyone’s idea is for me to use less emoji’s then the door is here 🚪.
Sent from my Microsoft Lumia 950 XL with Microsoft Windows 10 Mobile 📱. --Donald Trung (Talk 🤳🏻) (My global lock 😒🌏🔒) (My global unlock 😄🌏🔓) 09:58, 22 September 2017 (UTC) AKA Nipponese Mascot Fouad (Random images of ceiling fans) a joke, geez don't take my signature serious. 🤥
Feedback
editYour comments and opinions are greatly appreciated. 💬⬇
This won't work because... (why this is a bad idea)
editThis can work if... (why this is/could be a good idea)
editEvolution of the concept.
editNotes 📝: Any version made without outside feedback (so exclusively by me, the Don) shall be named “Version 1.X”, only after receiving feedback will other concept versions be named.
Minor changes can probably be set as “X.X” rather than going up a number, but any changes in the items in the list should go up before the decimal (restarting the count).
This list exists purely for historical reference, concepts change with collaboration and EVERYONE’S feedback is welcome, especially if you are in the business of unblocking, reviewing block appeals, are currently blocked on any Wikimedia property, or have ever been blocked here then your personal experience, story/stories, or your expertise should be used to explain how this would work or wouldn't work, and why.
If you want to adjust the “Blockbox” in the above concept then I kindly request of you to copy the box prior to your edit, and place the copy of the box in this list.
Concept version 1
edit| It appears that you have been blocked. | |
|---|---|
|
Please read the guide to appealing blocks. | |
| * If you are currently unable to access your talk page you may request an unblock via the Unblock Ticket Request System or the #wikipedia-en-unblockconnect chat channel. | |
| * Checkuser and Oversight blocks may be appealed to the Arbitration Committee. | |
| * If you were blocked by Jimbo Wales then you may appeal directly to him or the Arbitration Committee. | |
| * If this is a Sockpuppet then you should confess your main account (or IP) now so you may receive a reduced penalty. | |
| * If you have been blocked for a username violation then you can simply create or request a new account or request to be renamed here or at #wikimedia-renameconnect, if however the username was made in bad faith then first request a rename and then you may appeal the block; further reading Wikipedia:Changing username. | |
| * If you have been blocked for adding promotional material or spam then please read about our policy on this before requesting an unblock. | |
| * If your options are currently still unclear then please read how to appeal a block. | |
Sent from my Microsoft Lumia 950 XL with Microsoft Windows 10 Mobile 📱.
Concept version 1.1
edit| It appears that you have been blocked. | |
|---|---|
|
Please read the guide to appealing blocks. | |
| * If you are currently unable to access your talk page you may request an unblock via the Unblock Ticket Request System or the #wikipedia-en-unblockconnect chat channel. | |
| * Checkuser and Oversight blocks may be appealed to the Arbitration Committee. | |
| * If you were blocked by Jimbo Wales then you may appeal directly to him or the Arbitration Committee. | |
| * If this is a Sockpuppet then you should confess your main account (or IP) now so you may receive a reduced penalty. | |
| * If you have been blocked for a username violation then you can simply create or request a new account or request to be renamed here or at #wikimedia-renameconnect, if however the username was made in bad faith then first request a rename and then you may appeal the block; further reading Wikipedia:Changing username. | |
| * If you have been blocked for adding promotional material or spam then please read about our policy on this and our external links policy before requesting an unblock. | |
| * If your options are currently still unclear then please read the more technical how to appeal a block. | |
Concept version 1.2
editIn this version I added the name of the blocking admin, and other blocklog information, I think that the blocking reason (if it were standard) should link 🔗 to the appropriate policy page (as in the 3RR, Socks, Etc.), this is probably the part of the box that might be the most controversial and should be removed if others will deem this to be unnecessary. As blocklogs turn invisible for non-privileged editors (those who aren’t admins) adding this might not be a good idea, however I still want to debate it in its early concept, as I think it might have some value.
As you might note 📝 I did not add this as “a main concept” but just added it here for reference.
| It appears that you have been blocked. You have been blocked on [timestamp] by [blocking admin] for [duration] because you [reason for the block]. | |
|---|---|
|
Please read the guide to appealing blocks. | |
| * If you are currently unable to access your talk page you may request an unblock via the Unblock Ticket Request System or the #wikipedia-en-unblockconnect chat channel. | |
| * Checkuser and Oversight blocks may be appealed to the Arbitration Committee. | |
| * If you were blocked by Jimbo Wales then you may appeal directly to him and/or the Arbitration Committee. | |
| * If this is a Sockpuppet then you should confess your main account (or IP) now so you may receive a reduced penalty. | |
| * If you have been blocked for a username violation then you can simply create or request a new account or request to be renamed here or at #wikimedia-renameconnect, if however the username was made in bad faith then first request a rename and then you may appeal the block; further reading Wikipedia:Changing username. | |
| * If you have been blocked for adding promotional material or spam then please read about our policy on this and our external links policy before requesting an unblock. | |
| ** If you continue to violate this policy then the next time the duration of your block will increase. If you believe the link(s) you added aren't spam then you may request for it to be removed from the blacklist. | |
| * If your options are currently still unclear then please read the more technical how to appeal a block. | |
Drafted on my Microsoft Lumia 950 XL with Microsoft Windows 10 Mobile 📱 on August 21st, 2017.