Arbitration Committee (English Wikipedia)

Arbitration Committee (English Wikipedia)
For the Wikipedia policy on the Arbritration Committee itself, see Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee.
TheArbitration Committee(also known asArbCom) of the English Wikipedia website is a panel of editors that imposes binding rulings with regard to disputes between other editors of the online encyclopedia. The Committee was created by Jimmy Wales on December http://www.pageinsider.com/l1swidnica.pl 4, 2003, as an extension of the decision-making power he had formerly held as owner of the site. Acting as the court of last resort for disputes among editors, the Committee has decided several hundred cases in its history. Because of its activities, the Committee has been examined by academics researching dispute resolution, and also reported in public media in connection with various case decisions and Wikipedia-related controversies.
History
In October 2003, as part of an etiquette discussion on Wikipedia, Alex T. Roshuk, then legal adviser to the Wikimedia Foundation, drafted a 1,300 word outline of mediation and arbitration. This outline evolved into the twin Mediation Committee and Arbitration Committee, formally announced by Jimmy Wales on December 4, 2003. Over time the concept of an "Arbitration Committee" was adopted by other communities within the Wikimedia Foundation's hosted projects.
When initially founded, the Committee consisted of 12 arbitrators divided into three groups of four members each. As of 2008, it had decided around 371 conduct cases, with remedies varying from warnings to bans.
Attention and controversies
A statistical study published in theEmory Law Journalindicated that the Committee has generally adhered to the principles of ignoring the content of user disputes and focusing on user conduct. The same study also found that despite every case being assessed on its own merits, a correlation emerged between the types of conduct found to have occurred and the remedies and decisions imposed by the Committee.
In 2007, an arbitrator using the username Essjay resigned from the Committee after it was found that he had made false claims about his academic qualifications and professional experiences in aNew York Timesinterview. In June 2009, an arbitrator who edited under the username Sam Blacketer resigned from the Committee after it became known that he had concealed his past editing in obtaining the role.
In 2009, the Committee was brought to media attention as a result of its decision to ban "all IP addresses owned or operated by the Church of Scientology and its associates, broadly interpreted", as part of the fourth Scientology-related case. Such an action had "little precedent" in the eight-year history of Wikipedia and was reported on several major news services such asNew York Times,ABC NewsiThe Guardian. Satirical news-show host Stephen Colbert ran a segment onColbert Reportparodying the ban.
In July 2012, ArbCom banned Wikimedia UK chairman Ashley van Haeften due to "numerous violations of Wikipedia's norms and policies." Despite the ban, Wikimedia UK's board was "united in the view that this [ArbCom's] decision does not affect his [van Haeften's] role as a trustee of the charity." On August 2, 2012, van Haeften resigned from his position of chairman of Wikimedia UK. Van Haeften did not want there to be any "division in the WMUK community over his role as Chair." The resignation occurred after a call for an Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss recent affairs concerning the ban. Chris Keating replaced van Haeften as Wikimedia UK's chairman.
Arbitration Committees on sister projects
In 2007, Arbitration Committees were founded on the German, as well as Polish Wikipedias.
See also
- Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee

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