Limits to configuration changes
From Meta, a Wikimedia project coordination wiki
Rarely, a local community consensus will emerge for a particular wiki configuration change that is technically feasible to implement, but is rejected by the system administrators. Arguably this is a demonstration of a technocracy. This page serves to document and discuss cases that might be interpreted as instances of this kind, and to address the underlying issues.
[edit] Outright rejection
| Site | Request | Community discussion and notes | Estimated consensus |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Wikipedia | Remove unused accounts after 90 days | en:Wikipedia talk:Delete unused username after 90 days#Straw poll | 255 editors fully supported the change; 18 editors opposed it |
| Hindi Wikipedia | Allow bureaucrats to add users into the CheckUser user group | hi:विकिपीडिया:चौपाल/पुरालेख_20#Enable Some User Groups | CU can be granted only by stewards. OS was allowed for a period, then disabled. |
| Hindi Wikipedia | Enable log of Autocreated accounts in Hindi Wikipedia | hi:विकिपीडिया:नयी सुविधाएँ | Rejected for privacy reasons. The consensus was given to a bunch of requests at the same time. |
| English Wikipedia | Trial for restricting non-autoconfirmed users from creating new articles | en:Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals)/Proposal to require autoconfirmed status in order to create articles | 2/3 of 500 users according to closer |
[edit] Partial rejection
| Site | Request | Community discussion and notes | Estimated consensus |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Wikipedia | Increase autoconfirmed threshold | en:Wikipedia:Autoconfirmed Proposal/Poll: consensus emerged for 7 days/20 edits; only 4 days/10 edits was implemented. The old threshold was 4 days/0 edits. The issue was complicated by the fact that the bug to implement this change specifically requested 4/10 due to conflicting interpretations of the poll. | 50 editors supported 4/10 (or less) as the new threshold; 100 editors supported 7/20 (or higher). |
| Indonesian Wikipedia | Remove new page creation (and editing) rights for anons on id.wikipedia | id:Wikipedia:Pembatasan hak membuat artikel baru untuk pengguna anonim/Pemungutan suara: consensus emerged supporting both disabling page creation and editing for anons, but only page creation disabling was implemented, because removing the ability of anonymous editors to edit pages violates Founding principles. | 23 editors supported NOANON; 5 editors rejected; 1 abstain. |
