Requests for comment/Global IPBE to cover local blocks too

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TLDR: a draft of an RfC to allow GIPBE holders also avoid local blocks or alternatively have a new global flag created.

Draft[edit]

The RfC is still being written by Base, and is subject to expanding, copyediting, etc.

Problem[edit]

GIPBE flag exists to help people who have to violate NOP policy for a valid reason, most commonly being internet censorship in their country (China, Turkey, etc.), or a bot account operating from a cloud service (e.g. AWS). It is also used to whitelist users who are using an IP in range which is globally blocked for some other reason (vandalridden range, harbour to open proxies even if the individual IP is not one, etc.). For many users that is the flag provides the only way to collaborate in Wikimedia projects globally.

The flag was created in 2009 as per the Special:Permalink/1629813#Global_IP_block_exempt_for_Wcam, and since the beginning explicitly only contains the following permissions:

  • Bypass global IP blocks
  • Bypass automatic blocks of Tor exit nodes

Notably it does not include the following permission:

  • Bypass IP blocks, auto-blocks and range blocks

What this means is that users with GIPBE can participate in Wikimedia projects via globally blocked IPs or via Tor, but they cannot participate in projects where the IP address is blocked locally. It is a non-issue for most of the wikis, since it is uncommon for them to proactively enforce NOP policy, but in case of some wikis, such as Russian and English Wikipedias administrator-bots are using open proxy databases to …

Proposed solutions[edit]

I: expand existing flag[edit]

II: create a new flag[edit]

III: leave status quo be[edit]

Action points[edit]

In case of a positive solution being approved by the RfC a steward changes or creates the flag with the permissions required. In case new flag is created a patch is submitted to Wikimedia messages